Fragmented Memories
by LightningRei
Summary: An unfortunate encounter with one of Naraku's demons forces Inuyasha to lose all of his memories. Fleeing from his former friends, he stumbles across the root of the cause, unknowingly allying with his worst enemy. [Originally posted on AO3]
1. Chapter 1

A/N: sorry if the formatting is kinda weird, im copy and pasting it from ao3 haha. also hi! im working very hard on this fic. lookin back on it the first few chapters arent too great but if you get past them because theyre so short, they get a lot better. to the point that im proud of it!

The iron tight group of six headed down the faded brown road, intending to find another village to help, but to rest in for a night or so. Their "leader", Inuyasha, walked ahead of them all, arms folded in the long red sleeves of his robe. Kagome lagged closely behind him, almost next to him, struggling with the heavy yellow backpack she lugged around on her shoulders. Sango and Miroku followed behind closely, Shippo on one of Sango's shoulders and Kirara on the other. They slowly approached an oncoming forest to cross through.

"Inuyashaaaa," Shippo whined, hanging himself sluggishly over Sango's shoulder. "Can't we just rest in the forest tonight? How long are we gonna keep walking?"

"What are you complaining for? You're not even walking." He said, glancing back at him. "I know, but I'm so bored! And tiiredd."

"Oh, quit your complaining! If we're lucky, we can probably reach a village by sunset."

" If we're lucky? The day just started! I can't take any more of this!"

"Exactly, the day just started so quit your whining and save that energy for something useful, hmph."

Shippo growled, shuffling in his pockets. He pulled out a tiny top in his palm, snickering and shooting a glance at Inuyasha, who was blissfully unaware of the plot.

"Shippo..." Sango said.

He shushed her playfully, snickering quietly. Readying himself, he hopped off of her shoulder, tossing the top in Inuyasha's direction. "FOX TOP!" He shrieked, making Inuyasha turn around. It poofed into a big cloud, emerging as a significantly larger top. Kagome screamed and frantically jumped out of the way.

It slammed into the half demon's stomach, grinding him into the ground as he couldn't respond fast enough. He let out an ungodly screech as it kept digging him further into the dirt before poofing back into its original state, falling next to him in the newly formed crater.

Inuyasha groaned, dazed in the ground. He pressed both of his middle and ring fingers against his palms, while the rest of his fingers pointed out.

Shippo's tiny hands covering his mouth did not contain the loud laughter echoing inside his cheeks. His laughs sprung out, throwing him onto the floor, his fluffy fox tail breaking his fall.

Sango, Miroku, and Kagome watched the young fox demon go hysterical, holding back on their own laughter so that they wouldn't have to deal with Inuyasha's backlash. Miroku struggled, forcing his lips to stay shut, though his whole body rattled with internalized laughter.

Before Shippo could respond this time, he was seeing black and blue and some stars in his eyes as Inuyasha pounded three or four hard punches directly into his skull.

The little boy cried out, holding onto his head, feeling some knots rise up.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, SHIPPO?" He yelled, squatting down next to him.

"I JUST WANNA HAVE SOME FUN!"

"Fun? Oh, I'll show you fun." He growled, gripping on the top of Shippo's head. He stood up, aiming to throw him straight into the oncoming forest. Shippo screamed, flailing around, but unable to do anything to get out of Inuyasha's grip.

"KAGOME! HELP!"

"HUH? W... INUYASHA, SIT!"

The command made the beads around his neck glow, forcibly dragging him face first into the ground. Not letting go of Shippo, he dragged him down with him. He wailed before his own face made contact with the dirt.

"Sorry!" Kagome said.

"You're gonna pay for this, Shippo." Inuyasha growled, his voice muffled by the dirt.

The orange and pink hued sky illuminated the group as they entered a village shortly after exiting the large forest. Kagome stood in front this time, making sure she was the face of the group rather than half demon Inuyasha.

She approached a villager who carried a basket of vegetables and herbs.

"I'm sorry to intrude.. but do you people have any empty living quarters for us..? We're taking a long journey and we'll only be staying for a night or so.." Kagome asked meekly.

The villager looked at her group before looking back at her. Three demons, three humans.

"That's quite the peculiar group you have! I'll be more than happy to show you our guest house. Please follow me." She said.

Kagome sighed with relief, following behind the villager, the group doing the same.

The little house was run down, on the edge of the tiny village. It wasn't much, —dusty, run down, falling apart— but it was enough to handle with for one night.

"Thank you very much!" Kagome said, bowing in respect.

"It's my pleasure." The villager said, handing the basket she carried to Kagome. "Feel free to eat this, I'm sure you need it."

"You're so generous.."

She chuckled and waved them off, going back to her own home for the night. "She's very sweet, isn't she." Miroku said.

Everyone nodded in agreement, heading inside the little beat up home. Kagome handed the basket to Shippo, who carried inside on the top of his head. She used her hand as a visor to shade her eyes as she looked at the sunset. She sighed, her muscles relaxing at the sight. It was good getting a view like this, since around this time she'd often be cooped up in her room doing homework.

"Wait." Inuyasha said sharply.

He tensed up, sucking in a quick breath between his gritted teeth and standing up straighter.

Kagome perked up, getting on guard herself. "Inuyasha?"

"Something's coming," He took a few whiffs of the air around them, his face tightening with disgust and frustration. "And it reeks of Naraku."

Everyone gasped, racing out of the house and preparing for a fight. Sango reached for her Hiraikotsu, gripping the handle in case she needed to throw it. Kirara jumped onto the floor, fire engulfing her as she grew to her large sabertoothed form. Shippo squealed, hopping off of her shoulder and over to Kagome who was taking a few steps behind the monk and demon slayer.

Inuyasha unsheathed his Tessaiga, a glow of light emitting from the blade as it grew larger, the guard covered in fur. The ground rumbled, and the sounds of panicked villagers slowly grew louder. It came into vision, from the forest they'd just exited. A huge demon raced towards them, on many legs that looked like tentacles rather than actual legs or even arms. It was mainly a body, with tentacles protruding from it and big, beady, pale yellow glowing eyes.

It tore through the village, demolishing empty houses of villagers who fled with their lives intact. Inuyasha jumped forward, raising his sword over his head to strike the demon as the distance between it and his group got smaller. The blade's contact on the demon's hard skin sparked and flashed, but it hardly made an indent or a wound. It slowed down the massive demon to a halt, the sudden stop throwing Inuyasha back onto the ground.

Sango stepped forward yelling, "Hiraikotsu!", then threw the oversized boomerang right at the demon. Its free tentacles batted the boomerang off course, it spinning back into her. She dodged it, letting it spin into the ground, then up in the air again. As the Hiraikotsu passed, Kagome and Shippo nearly averted getting hit by it too. Sango raised her arm, grabbing the Hiraikotsu's handle as it returned.

"Miroku, it'd be best for you to take cover too, I don't think it'd be a good idea to unleash your wind tunnel here."

He nodded, taking several steps back.

Kirara took to the sky, trying to get in close to the demon to attack, but its tentacles waving around warded her off.

"Kirara! Come back down, it's too dangerous!" Sango yelled.

Kirara roared and avoided getting hit, placing herself back down next to her owner. Inuyasha raised his sword at the demon again, this time firing a new attack.

"Wind Scar!"

Slamming the Tessaiga back into the ground, streaks of energy shot out of the Tessaiga, hitting the demon head on and it let out a guttural screech. "Direct hit!"

The ground exploded into a cloud of dust in front of them, obscuring their vision of the demon. The screeching died down, but they heard no sound of the demon's body hitting the ground. Instead, its tentacles jutted out of the dust, impaling themselve into the ground as it tried to attack each of them. Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo successfully jumped out of the tentacles aim, the only damage received was a bit of dirt to the eyes.

Kagome, on the other hand, could not react fast enough and the tentacle came way too close for comfort. The impact of it stabbing into the ground, threw Kagome into the walls of the guest home, breaking through the wooden wall. Shippo rushed up to her to checking to make sure she was okay.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha exclaimed, snapping around to face her.

It only took a second of distraction for Inuyasha's guard to be let down, in which the Tessaiga was snapped right out of his hands by a deft tentacle. His mind went blank, and at the same time started to race.

What do I do? Go for the demon with my bare hands? Get the Tessaiga back? Go and see if Kagome is okay?

His thoughts got the better of him, allowing the demon's tentacles to wrap around his abdomen and yank him away from his group.

"Inuyasha!" The unharmed members of his group called out. "Inuyasha...!" Kagome whimpered, reaching out for him.

Though he was tight in the demon's grip, Inuyasha's arms remained free, trying to tear at the limb to escape. His cuts were rendered useless, barely chopping off pieces of the hard and rigid flesh.

He was met face to face with the demon, isolated from everyone else due to the dust that lingered in the air.

"I know you're one of Naraku's demons! _Where is he?!_ " He yelled, furiously.

He was answered with the demon's tentacles wrapping around his wrists and spreading his arms out, making them immobile. He thrashed his head around, struggling to even contract his arms again.

Miroku and Sango stood, peering into the cloud of dust to see if they could identify what was happening.

"Miroku, I take it back. Open your wind tunnel quickly to clear the dust. We need to see what's going on."

"Got it." He grabbed the beads wrapped around his right wrist and pulled it off, the cloth unfurling from his hand to unleash the eternal vacuum inside his palm. "Wind Tunnel!"

Opening it for a brief second, he pulled in the dust in the air quickly to see Inuyasha stuck in the grip of his opponent.

With no hesitation, Sango threw her Hiraikotsu, for another tentacle to hit it away again. She hissed in frustration as it spun around again, and back into her hand.

Inuyasha growled, spotting much thinner tentacles coming into view. His thrashing started again as it slowly got closer, aiming into the sides of his head. It pressed against his temples and pierced his skin, forcing its way inside his head.

The agony of it all forced a pained scream out of his throat, his eyes glowing hazy yellow like the demon's.

"Inuyasha!" Everyone panicked at the sound of his distress.

Kagome fumbled around, pulling out her bow and an arrow. She sat up on her knees, aiming at the demon holding her friend captive. Pulling back the string, a ray of purple light followed the arrow as she released it. It pierced through the air, striking the demon, leaving a gaping hole in it. Its body quickly disintegrated and let Inuyasha fall to the ground. His screaming stopped, his voice fading into a light groan as his body plummeted towards the ground.

Kirara leaped forward, soaring underneath Inuyasha to break his fall. She gently brought him back down, shifting to the side to rest him on the floor.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out, wobbling back onto her feet to go meet up with Inuyasha. She pulled the Tessaiga out of the ground, then ran to join her comrades. Kagome dropped on her knees next to Inuyasha, shaking his shoulders in an attempt to wake him up. Blood trickled out of both of his temples, where the demon had slipped through his skull.

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha wake up, please!" She cried.

His hearing was muffled, hearing slurred voices as consciousness came back to him. His eyes flashed open, his pupils shrinking. His eyebrows knitted, unfamiliarity flooding over him. He saw a sword in a girl's hand. She gripped his shoulder, and a wave of relief washed over her face as Inuyasha looked up at her.

"Inuyasha, your Tessaiga!" She proclaimed, offering it to him.

Tessaiga?

His eyes darted back and forth between the blade and girl, snatching it from her at the handle. He quickly got to his feet, jumping back about two yards from them. He stared at the sword in his hand curiously, maneuvering it to observe its handle and guard. Why did she give it to him?

"I..Inuyasha?" She asked, getting back up on her feet. "Are you okay?"

Inuyasha's brows knitted, cocking his head to the side suspiciously. "Who the hell are you, and why are you acting like I know you?" He asked, subtly taking steps further away from them.

The girl's eyebrows furrowed, her friends gasping at the question.

"You don't think... that demon erased his memories?" said another girl, carrying a large boomerang.

"It can't be.." The strangely dressed girl responded. She looked at Inuyasha, taking a step forward to him.

He snarled, remaining on guard with his grip tightening on the sword. This girl...

"You.." He said. "You're Kikyo. You smell just like her."

"Kikyo?" She gasped, almost offended. "Something is wrong."

"You damn bitch... Why'd you seal me to that tree! Why are you dressed like that! And why do you smell so awful!" He lunged at her, reaching for her with his claws rather than with the sword.

She screamed, bracing herself and covering her face with her arms. The other girl stepped in front of her, using her boomerang as a shield against his claws. She pushed Inuyasha back, making him stumble and lose his footing. A large demon cat slammed into him, throwing him back onto the ground. It snarled at him, the fur on its back standing up.

"Inuyasha please, calm down! It's me, Kagome!" The first girl said, emerging from behind the other who guarded her.

"Stay back! I won't hesitate for a second to kill you if you get close to me." He said, cracking his hand.

She froze up, and he smirked, though it quickly faded away. He turned around and leaped on a roof, taking large strides against the rooftops as he made an escape to a nearby forest.

He could hear the girl calling his name, quickly getting more distressed every time she repeated it. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha! _Inuyasha!_"


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome tripped on the rocks unearthed from underneath the dirt, crying out in pain as she skinned her knee and scratched up her legs and cheek. She looked up, seeing Inuyasha's body get further and further away, disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

"Inuyasha..!" Her voice cracked and faded at the end of her plea.

She clenched her fists, her body trembling as she covered her face with her arms, burying her forehead into the dirt. Her body welled up with heat, though she was unsure of the emotion spurring it. She was confused. This wasn't a joke! She was angry. He just left us like that! She was guilty. If I'd just killed it sooner... She was hopeless.

Footsteps raced towards her, hearing the sounds of her friends resting down next to her. "Kagome.." Sango sighed, resting a hand on her back.

"Sango, I don't understand... How is he just gone?" Kagome asked, her voice muffled. "It has to be the work of that demon, he didn't seem to remember us at all."

Miroku hummed in thought. "Inuyasha did mention that the demon smelled of Naraku." Kagome shifted her head to look up at him.

"It could be another one of Naraku's incarnations then!" Shippo added, thinking his input added anything to the conversation.

"More than likely, Naraku sent this demon out after us with the intent of erasing Inuyasha's memories. He doesn't want him to be allied with us anymore." Miroku continued.

"It's not a bad move.. We've lost the strongest person on our team." Sango said.

Kagome slowly rose to sit on her knees. "He mentioned Kikyo.. And asked why I'd- well, why Kikyo had sealed him to the tree."

Her thoughts flashed with the image of her first encounter with Inuyasha at the tree. Quiet, and peaceful. The memory relaxed her.

"His memories must have been erased up until that point." She looked down, her eyebrows furrowing and her face turning red. "He lost all of those memories.. All this time that we've been around him, all of our efforts to help him.. Was this all for nothing? He's all alone now, and filled with the same malice towards Kikyo that plagued him 50 years ago!"

"Kagome, we can always start over. Inuyasha is still Inuyasha. You know he has the capacity to change again!" Sango said.

Kagome just stared down at the ground, Shippo crawling under her nose. He looked up at her, her not looking back at him.

"Kagome, now that rotten Inuyasha is gone, you're our leader now! You're our main character!" He cheered, trying to cheer up Kagome.

Her eyes flickered with the tiniest portion of hope.

"I guess..." She shook her head. "No I guess. You're right, Shippo. Thank you."

He grinned wide, proud at his feat of cheering Kagome up, if even a little. "You're a much better leader than Inuyasha anyway, I'd be more than willing to listen to you."

She let out a weak laugh, flattered by the compliment.

Sango stood up. "Come on, Kagome. Do you wanna look for him?"

Kagome thought about it, then nodded her head. Sango offered her hand, Kagome taking it and was hoisted up onto her feet. She was flustered by Sango's strength, giggling a bit. Her soft laughter was contagious, making the demon slayer giggle a little too. She coughed it out, turning to her pet feline.

"Kirara, you take us above to look for Inuyasha. Miroku, you and Shippo go on foot, alright?" Shippo hopped on Miroku's shoulder, both nodding with affirmation.

Sango hopped on Kirara's back, helping Kagome up to sit behind her. Kirara took to the sky, but speeding off towards the forest. Miroku followed suit on foot, his quick pace allowing him to keep up with the girls above.

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" Sango called from above. She could faintly hear Miroku and Shippo doing the same from inside the forest.

Kagome chose not to assist much, taking the time to just recede into her own mind. Her mind was jumbled with thoughts about this situation, though hearing Inuyasha refer to her as "Kikyo" again remained to be the most prominent thought.

A faint pressure surrounded her, as if she were walking into a thin field that got more dense the further she went in. "There's a sacred jewel shard nearby!" She exclaimed.

"A jewel shard?! Which way?"

"It's faint.. But I can tell it's coming from over there!" Kagome said, pointing into a deep part of the forest. Kirara followed Kagome's given direction.

Inuyasha leaped from branch to branch, eventually going back down on the ground, jogging and eventually slowed to just a walk. He no longer heard those strange people calling for him, and their hideous stenches were far enough away from him.

He kept his pace slow, taking time to reflect for himself. His Tessaiga dragged next to him, he wondered why that girl gave it to him.

"That wench.. She smelled so similar to Kikyo, but... But there was something different. Something different about her stench.." He grumbled, placing his free hand to his head as he tried to conjure up some memories. There was obviously something that he was missing, as if he were standing on the edge of a revene, the deep trench being the empty space between his past and present.

Kikyo killed me... Then I wake up on the ground with this girl who smelled so much like her looking down on me. 'Kagome... Hm..' And this sword.. He observed it again. The Tessaiga? It's a strange sword, but it almost feels like it's perfect for me. He looked at the sheath he had just noticed was there, putting the Tessaiga inside it. His movements were slow, mesmerized by seeing the sword shrink to fit in the sheath with a bright yellow glow.

He was pulled from his thoughts as he'd felt his body just squeeze through a demonic barrier. He tensed up, bearing his claws in case he needed to attack anyone.

"Inuyasha." A voice called out, from far in front of him. He didn't respond, making sure to not let his guard down.

A figure revealed himself from behind a tree, covered in a cloak and mask of a white baboon. He immediately gave off a very bad vibe, but Inuyasha wasn't known for being scared off by a premonition.

"Aren't you relieved?" He continued. Inuyasha just narrowed his eyes at the obscured figure. "You're free once again. Free from that tree, free from them."

Them? He must mean those humans back there. But why mention them? Who are they?

His jumbled, growing confusion came out of him as an aggressive "Who are you?"

"I am Naraku, and I am only approaching you to propose you an offer. In your benefit, of course." He said, though something sounded off.

"Offer? Not interested." Inuyasha turned around, beginning to go back in the direction from which he came.

Naraku chuckled. "Would your interest be piqued if this offer was in regard to the Shikon Jewel?" Inuyasha froze. Naraku's mouth curled into a smirk underneath the hood.

"You have it?"

"Most of the shards are in my possession."

"'Shards?' What do mean shards? Did you break it?"

"Unfortunately, I will not go into any more detail about this unless you come with me. Though, if you doubt my word..." An arm slipped out from underneath the cloak, a sacred jewel shard held firmly in between his pointer finger and thumb. Inuyasha could feel the power radiating from the jewel, though it was faint, but he could feel his demon energies rising.

So this was the real deal, he wasn't lying. Many questions fluttered through the half demon's head, though he knew that he couldn't spill them out all at once, otherwise he may end up losing this opportunity.

"Fine." He huffed, struggling to contain his confusion inside of him.

Something still felt wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The stranger really set off some red flags, though the emptiness that lingered in his head prevented him from understanding why. Inuyasha just figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to just go along with what offer he may have in mind, but if it goes south, he would not hesitate to flee.

He could Naraku chuckling quietly underneath his cloak. The subtle laughter really set him on edge, but he chose to push it aside, feeling that to go with him was his only choice at the moment.

"Come." He said.

Inuyasha turned to Naraku, preparing to leap through the forest once more, though stopped prematurely when a desperate shrill cry of his name ran through his ears.

"INUYASHA!"

He snapped his head around, eyes flaring with rage at the sign of the familiar voice.

The two girls and their flying cat slammed directly into the barrier, repelled off by its tremendous demonic force. They all tumbled into the ground and Inuyasha inched closer to Naraku.

"We have no time for distractions." Naraku says flatly, his voice growing colder.

Inuyasha nodded, following behind Naraku as he began to leave.

"Inuyasha, no! Don't go with him!" The not-Kikyo cried.

He glanced behind him, seeing a ray of light eject from a bow in her hand, lighting up the dark forest around them.

"A sacred arrow!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

It came into direct contact with the barrier, sparking as it tried to force its way through. Inuyasha's haste slowed as he watched it anxiously.

The light died out, the arrow thrown away by the barrier.

Inuyasha clicked his teeth, turning around and speeding up again. Kikyo's arrow could've broken

through that easily.

Naraku scoffed, a purple tinted gas spreading from underneath the cloak. Inuyasha flinched, but realized that the miasma avoided him, essentially cutting a path for him to run safely through.

"Not again.." Kagome said.

"Get back!" Sango yelled, yanking Kagome by the collar and pulling her away from the miasma.

She stumbled a bit, but the three retreated until they were far enough from the miasma. Sango used her gas mask on Kagome, ensuring that she would escape safely. Miroku and Shippo's voice grew close, but instead of calling Inuyasha's name, they were calling both Sango and Kagome's.

"We saw the light from your sacred arrow, Kagome. What happened?"

"We caught up to him..." Kagome said. "But he got away again." "He got away?"

"That's not all," she continued. "He left with Naraku."

Miroku and Shippo gasped. "Naraku?" They both asked.

Kagome nodded and turned her head away. She gritted her teeth, forcing down the frustration that welled up inside her again. Sango eyes softened as she gazed at Kagome, she could understand the pain she felt. It was just like how Naraku stole Kohaku away from her, using dirty tricks to make his own pieces fall into place.

"I want to go back and find him." Kagome almost ran back in the direction Inuyasha left, but Sango wrapped her arm around her abdomen.

"Kagome, it's dark. I'm sure we'll have another opportunity. We can try again in the morning."

Kagome's eyes flickered between Sango and the direction Inuyasha went in. Her whole body slumped, buying into Sango's concern.

"We need to go back to that village anyhow, we should make sure they're alright." Miroku added.

Kagome nodded solemnly, the group beginning to leave the forest again.

A woman garbed in many kimonos who held a fan, and a young boy who wore regular villagers' clothes peered into an open door, Inuyasha and Naraku sitting on the side of the room the door led to. Naraku no longer wore his white cloak, making his face and identity out in the open for Inuyasha to see. The young boy watching was more curious than anything, but the woman looked on in disbelief.

He.. He actually got Inuyasha here! Now what exactly does he intend on using him for..

"Inuyasha." Naraku said. "Hm."

"As promised, this Shikon Jewel shard is now yours." He said, pulling it out from under the cloak again and stood up.

Inuyasha got onto his feet too, his focus on the shard.

"You didn't answer me earlier. Why is the Shikon Jewel broken into so many pieces? And where's the rest of it?"

"Ah. Due to unfortunate circumstances, a priestess named Kagome shattered it into little pieces." "Priestess? Kagome?"

"Yes, I believe you had a run-in with her prior to our meeting."

Inuyasha looked away, going back into his own thoughts. Kikyo... Kagome.. Priestess... Shikon Jewel.. Kagome.. Kagome. His distraction allowed Naraku to get close to him, and shoved his hand with the Shikon Jewel shard into the left side of his chest.

Inuyasha sucked in a quick breath and hissed at the pain, feeling Naraku force the shard deep into his body and right into his heart. The dark energy of the shard clouded his mind and soul, his eyes growing red. Purple streaks carved down his cheeks, and he was flooded with a quick burst of pain as the shard sparked in his heart. Naraku pulled his hand out, leaving the shard inside of him.

"Will you overcome this power, or succumb to your own demonic desires?"

Inuyasha clutched where his heart was, it beating violently. He dropped to his knees and screwed his eyes shut. He shut out the world around him, focusing on the surge of sacred energy pouring into him. It felt corrupted, as if it tried to pull him by the throat into the darkest recesses of his own consciousness. He forced himself to stay in control, opening his eyes as the red faded, the purple streaks staying. His grip on his chest relaxed, letting out heavy breaths.

"So this... is the power of the sacred jewel, huh..." He panted.

Naraku stared down at him, grinning. "So you've overcome it, I see." He sat back down in front of Inuyasha. "I will allow you more jewel shards if you acquire them."

"How do you expect me to get 'em if I've got no idea where they are?" "The girl."

"Huh?"

"The priestess Kagome, the one who broke the jewel in the first place, has shards of her own. Retrieve them and kill her."

"Kill her?" He snickered. "Gladly. Her stench has been getting on my nerves." "Excellent."


	3. Chapter 3

"Upon sunrise, you will take Kagura with you to find and kill Kagome, as well as her friends. Do so, and I will reward you." Naraku said.

"Kagura?" Inuyasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

Naraku glanced towards the door, and the woman who spectated prior emerged in the doorway, holding up a fan to her lips. The boy who peeked in hid from the entryway, though his silhouette was still seen through the translucent walls.

"That would be me," she said, watching Inuyasha's face. Not a sign of recognition from him.

"You know what you must do," Naraku continued. "See that you get those jewel shards. Until then, feel free to roam about my castle." He stood to his feet, exiting the room and disappearing down a hall.

Kagura hummed in thought, observing Inuyasha as he left the room as well. His alliance with us could truly be beneficial with us- no, be beneficial for me. With him working on the inside, he could be my ticket to freedom.

The boy and Inuyasha did not meet eyes as the half demon passed, though they both acknowledged the other's presence.

"I think... you're just like me," Kohaku piped up.

Inuyasha froze in his tracks, almost offended by the boy's brief statement. "Like you? You don't know who I am."

Kohaku remained silent, looking down at the floorboards as he tried to think of a response. "We're... we're both bound to the jewel. Bound to Naraku," he said quietly.

Inuyasha scoffed, looking back at Kohaku, but the boy remained facing away. His shoulders were tense and raised up high, as if he feared physical backlash from his comment. The tension from the boy's stiffness made Inuyasha face forward again, making his way to the castle's exit.

His pace was slow, and his nerves were on fire. Everything he felt was heightened- his feet making every step of contact with the cold floor, his hair and clothes brushing against his skin, and more importantly, the jewel shard that gave him surges of energy in his heart. Every pump felt like his whole body rattled in response, his vision fading away but quickly coming back. Focusing was all he could do to make sure the jewel's energies didn't make him lose his grip on his own body.

Sliding the entrance door open, Inuyasha's body was met with a cold, refreshing breeze of wind. The sky was still dark, the full moon peering down and illuminating his whole body. He gazed up at the sky, hoping the beauty of the stars would distract him from his own frustration.

"Is this place. .. supposed to be my home now?" He asked himself.

Kagome couldn't sleep. No one could. She sat outside, fighting off her own urge to run back into that forest and scream Inuyasha's name til her voice got hoarse. She stayed with her friends because she knew it wouldn't get him back. She didn't even know where to start, they had no clues as to where Naraku may be hiding. Kagome was left with her ability to sense jewel shards to possibly find him, and it may not even be him with the jewel shard.

"Kagome, come inside, it's cold," Sango said, standing in the doorway. Her eyelids sagged over her eyes, it was obvious she wanted to go back to sleep.

Kagome faced away from her, sitting on the dusty and dirty ground in her pink pajamas, her legs curled in close to her. She rested on her knees, her cheek acting as her cushion.

"There's a huge hole in the wall, it can't be much different in there."

"It's definitely less cold inside..." Sango responded, almost sing-songy. Silence. Her weak attempt at a joke must've fallen flat, making Sango sigh.

"Sango... I'm overreacting aren't I?" She asked flatly.

Sango's eyes softened, looking at her friend sitting on the ground. "No. Not at all." She kneeled next to Kagome.

"You know how Naraku took Kohaku from me, you saw how I acted around you all when I first met you. In all honesty, you're handling this better than I did. You're strong," she said, mid-yawn, partially covering her mouth with her hand.

"I'm... strong?"

Sango hummed in approval, nodding her head to affirm her statement. "Mmm... Thanks.."

"Come and get your rest with us. We'll let you sleep as long as you want to so that we can start our journey again with all of your energy." Sango got back up onto her feet, going back inside to continue sleeping. She let Kagome come in of her own accord, let her mind settle before she rested.

Kagome went back inside, sleeping upright and leaned on a wall. She observed her fast asleep friends, and before she knew it, she was out too.

The dim presence of sun in the room shone through Kagome's eyelids, alerting her to wake up. Her eyes flashed open and she shot up, seeing 3 layers of blankets over her. Shippo who kept guard in front of her squealed, and hopped up to his paws.

"Kagome! You're awake!" he exclaimed, scrambling to pick up the tops that kept him occupied.

She took a second to get used to her surroundings and rubbed her eyes. "Mmm. Yep." She yawned and stretched, then looked back down on Shippo sleepily. "Where's Miroku and Sango?"

"They're outside, helping the villagers with the damage. Just us being here brings demons running after us, huh?"

She chuckled before yawning again. "Yeah. You can go and tell them I'm up. I'm gonna go and change." Kagome said, tugging on her pajama shirt playfully, showing how unprepared for a journey she was.

Shippo nodded, scampering out of the hole in the wall that Kagome made the night before. After affirming that Shippo was far enough away, she sighed loudly and leaned back onto the wall. She knocked the back of her head against it a few times, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to leave a faint sting. Her eyes burned and welled up, but she screwed her eyes closed to lock those tears back inside of her.

Inuyasha slept on the roof of Naraku's castle near its entrance, making his location obvious to anyone who exited it. The sun crawled up his body as he slept, the radiance of its light waking him up unapologetically. He groaned, brushing his hair over his eyes to try and get a bit more sleep before he had to leave with Kagura.

He heard the entrance slide open below him, hoping that it wasn't who he thought it was. "Wakey wakey, _Inuyasha_," Kagura said, almost condescendingly.

It wasn't who he thought it was, but this was hardly any better. He groaned. "Tired." Kagura scoffed. "Tired? We have work to do."

He didn't respond, still trying to get more rest. Kagura's patience waned at his lack of respect for anything. "Get..." Her fan snapped open. "UP!" She dragged the fan up, creating a heavy gust of wind that pulled Inuyasha from the roof of the castle, into the sky.

Kagura huffed, hearing Inuyasha's screams get closer as he crashed into the ground. "DAMN YOU!" Inuyasha hissed, snapping back up onto his feet.

"Disappointing, I expected a quicker reaction. If you're this weak, then we hardly have any use for you."

"I ain't weak! All you did was catch me off guard," he snapped, dusting off himself.

Kagura did not respond, letting her silence frustrate the half demon as she plucked a feather from her hairpiece.

It grew in size, scooping them both up and lifting them into the air. Inuyasha panicked, sitting down and peering over the edge of the huge feather. The ground quickly got farther and farther away. Before the castle itself was out of view, Inuyasha spotted Kohaku gazing up at them anxiously. Inuyasha squinted, then stopped looking over.

A boring hour passed, Inuyasha trying to guide Kagura to Kagome on only his sense of smell and recollection of the direction he traveled. The incarnation figured that she could manage on her own, ignoring any snide comment from Inuyasha afterwards. He looked over the edge again, and saw the forest he was in the night before.

"I smell her," he said, a crooked smile spreading on his face. Without hesitation, he leapt over the edge.

Kagome and the others headed back through the forest, hoping that they could eventually be led to Inuyasha had they followed in his direction.

"I.. I feel something," Kagome said. "Something?" Miroku asked.

"I think it's... a jewel shard? But it's above us," she said, craning her neck up to look to the sky, though the forest's thick foliage stopped her from seeing past it. She gasped, tensing up.

"Kagome?" Sango and Miroku asked simultaneously.

"It's coming down!" she shrieked, stepping far away from where she expected it to land. Her group followed suit, backing up, when they heard his voice.

"_Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!_"

The light that trailed from Inuyasha's claws cut through the trees, burning up the leaves and branches he touched. The group ducked for cover, chunks of wood hitting them. Kagome sat up, paralyzed with fear.

Inuyasha cracked his hand, standing back on his feet from after his landing. His eyes made contact with Kagome's, savoring the terror in them. "Good to see you, Kagome. Just the girl I was looking for." Her name did not roll off his tongue right. It sounded condescending, and not the slightest bit friendly.

"Inuyasha?!" She asked, scrambling back onto her feet. "Do you remember us?" A wave of relief was so close to washing over her, but something was wrong. She knew this was too good to be true, she could even see the streaks of purple carved into his cheeks. Impulsively, she took a step forward. One step was all it took for Inuyasha to lunge at her.

Miroku grabbed her by her shirt collar and essentially threw her out of the way. He let out a sharp but genuine "Sorry!" before raising his staff to block Inuyasha's claws. Miroku's strength did not fend off Inuyasha, the half demon grabbing the pole and bending it inwards. The monk kept his arms outstretched, being pushed back.

Sango and Shippo rushed over to Kagome, who rolled onto her forearms. Sango grabbed her shoulders and helped her sit up. "Kagome."

She groaned in response, meaning to say, "Huh?"

"You said that you sensed a jewel shard. Do you think it's coming from Inuyasha?" "Definitely..."

"Can you spot where it is?"

Kagome nodded then looked at Inuyasha, focusing her gaze on him. A soft glow emitted from his chest, eliciting a gasp from Kagome.

"It's in his heart, and it's partially corrupted too!"

Miroku continued to struggle against Inuyasha's enhanced strength, the bend in his staff growing significantly more severe.

"You're a weak man, it's almost funny," Inuyasha laughed.

Miroku grunted. "I know you've got no memories of us, but this is quite out of character even for you, Inuyasha!"

"Quit yakking like you know me!" He ducked, then sent a hard punch with his free hand directly into Miroku's stomach. The monk gagged, the wind getting knocked out of him as he was sent toppling backwards far behind Kagome.

"No blood from you? Guess I must be holding back."

Sango wasted no time taking her own turn on Inuyasha, relentlessly smashing him in the face with her Hiraikotsu. He yelped, his head snapping to the side. He swiped at her without any aim on reflex, grazing her Hiraikotsu and leaving claw marks in it. Inuyasha shook off the pain, spitting up some blood. He held his jaw, shifting it around until it cracked. "You almost broke my jaw..." he growled. "You'll pay for that."

He snapped straight up and ran at Sango, pulling back his arm. The demon slayer raised her Hiraikotsu to use as a shield, but Inuyasha's fist connected with it, breaking it in half clean down the middle. His force was so strong, he connected with Sango in her nose. She gasped, the impact throwing her down onto the ground. Inuyasha grabbed her throat, raising her off the dirt with no time for her to recover.

Her mind was in a haze from the punch, blood dribbling from her nose. Panicked, she grabbed the hilt of her sword and yanked it from its sheath, stabbing Inuyasha clean through the arm. He screamed, letting go of her before he could really get a good grip around her neck. He kicked her in the stomach before she hit the ground, sending her flying back in Kagome's direction.

Kagome watched in horror, her hands inching towards her bow and arrows.

Inuyasha hissed, pulling out the blade stuck in his arm, dressed with his blood and tossed it aside like garbage. He eyed Kagome, frustration and impatience scrawled across his face as he made his way to her.

Kirara erupted into flames, her body and fangs growing in size. She roared, jumping at Inuyasha and sunk her teeth into his uninjured arm, using her weight to push him away from her friends. The half demon cursed, raising his fist and bringing it down onto Kirara's nose a few times. She did not falter, so Inuyasha grabbed her nose and forced her mouth open, freeing his arm from her bite.

He wasted no time punching the huge cat in her face, sending her rolling back in flames to her smaller form.

Shippo cowered behind Kagome, but sucked in a deep breath before charging at Inuyasha. He jumped up and yelled at him with the intent of sending a top into Inuyasha to deter him, but a quick swipe sent Shippo into a tree, silencing him immediately.

Her breath hitched, quickly coming more erratic and panicked. Tears welled up and rolled down her face as her mind went blank, the only thought consuming her mind being, He's really going to kill me! Kagome's eyes frantically darted around, seeing the status on her friends. Miroku lay on the ground, struggling to recover from the blow to his stomach. Sango, Kirara, and Shippo were unconscious and Sango bleed from her nose.

A slight crack of Inuyasha's smile snapped Kagome into a panicked flurry. She pulled out her bow and retrieved an arrow, aiming and pulling back the string. For a second, she hesitated, but a knew thought urged her to fire. I have to live.

She closed her eyes and let go, the arrow speeding towards Inuyasha, shrouded in a purple light.

That same sacred arrow...! Inuyasha thought, the quick distraction allowing the arrow to plant itself in his right shoulder. The energy from Kagome started to purify the jewel, Inuyasha's desire to kill her lessening. Kagome continued to fire, closing her eyes whenever she let go of the string. Many arrows grazed him, only one other arrow connected with him in his abdomen, making him step back.

She noticed him no longer advancing, looking up at him. His expression was completely different, his eyes looked brighter, and he looked almost remorseful. She wobbled to her feet, pulling out her last arrow as a precaution.

"Inu..."

Before she could finish, a strong gust of wind pushed Kagome away from Inuyasha, the distance between them getting larger again. She shielded her eyes from the dirt, trying to get a few glimpses of what was ensuing in front of her.

Kagura lowered herself to the ground, ushering Inuyasha onto her feather before taking off into the sky again. The wind died off, Kagome getting a clear view of their escape.

"Kagura!" She hissed in frustration. She aimed her bow at the sky, pulling back the string and letting her arrow fly.

The lit up arrow trailed into the sky, heading straight for Kagura, but Inuyasha's hand grabbed the arrow before reaching her. He looked back down on Kagome, the remorse in his eyes completely evaporated. He snapped the arrow in half and let it fall to the ground, the priestess watching in dismay.

Kagome watched until they were completely out of view, frozen in place. Intense feelings bubbled up within her again, rising from her feet to her head, but all she could do was let out a strangled cry before dropping everything and falling to her knees, face in her hands.

Kagura dropped them both at the front of Naraku's castle, immediately making her way inside. "Come on."

Inuyasha squinted and followed behind her. "Why did you stop me?" he snarled. "Naraku's orders. He wants to speak with you."

Probably gonna scold me for not getting the job done, Inuyasha thought to himself.

Kagura stood aside a door, leading to a room that Naraku sat inside. Inuyasha entered, still having the two arrows prior stuck within him.

"Inuyasha, you seem to have come back in one piece." Naraku started. Inuyasha scoffed. "You knew this would happen to me?"

"Oh... No. All you are is unprepared, and I sent you out far too soon. You've yet to truly understand the benefits that the sacred jewel has for you,"

Inuyasha pulled out the arrow stuck in his abs, still listening. "Unsheathe your Tessaiga. Perhaps I'll teach you how to use it."


	4. Chapter 4

Shippo whimpered, opening his eyes to the sight of Kagome over him. She wasn't looking at him, but she held him close to her body like a baby. He groaned, rubbing his eyes, which gained Kagome's attention. She cut herself off mid-sentence, directing her focus to the little fox demon.

"Shippo, you're awake!"

"Ooough, Kagome... My whole body hurts... What happened?"

"Inuyasha attacked us, and he knocked you out when you tried to protect me."

"I protected you? How'd I do?"

She should've put more emphasis on "tried". Shippo had immediately got slammed into a tree before he could even get anywhere close to landing a hit on Inuyasha.

"You did enough, thank you," she turned to Miroku, who was aiding Kirara. "Miroku, do you need to sit down for a bit? I can cover for you while you rest."

"Ah, no it's alright. Maybe later." Miroku winced, still aching from the blow to his chest.

Kagome nodded, turning to Sango. She picked up a half-empty bottle of water nearby, offering it to her friend. Sango held a tissue underneath her nose, looking very dazed as she took heavy breaths through her mouth. She groaned and nodded, raising her free hand so Kagome could put the bottle in it.

Kagome quickly screwed the cap open, accidentally squishing Shippo a bit, and handed it to her.

"Now, don't lean your head back otherwise the blood will go right into your stomach, then you'll feel really nauseous," Kagome said matter-of-factually.

"Have you had a bloody nose yourself, Kagome?" Miroku asked curiously, stroking the tiny Kirara's fur.

"Yeah, but not in a fight or anything!" She waved her hand playfully at him. "Sometimes the humidity would just make it bleed."

Sango sighed in relief, drawing Kagome's eyes back to her. "Thank you, Kagome," she said breathily.

Sango's nose was bleeding tremendously, she was lucky she'd gotten off with a minor fracture rather than an entirely broken nose. Blood had already seeped into the collar of her kimono, lining some of the cloth a dark red.

"It's no problem!" Kagome said. "If you need anything, just ask, okay?"

Sango closed her eyes and nodded, a relieved smile on her face.

"Shippo, do you think you can walk?"

"I think so, but I don't mind you holding me!" he said, snuggling in Kagome's arms.

Kagome chuckled, keeping him in her arm. She continued to aid her friends, making sure that they were able to easily recover. Her determination never faltered, not once cracking under the pressure of being the only uninjured member of the party.

She stood up, stretching and yawning. She slipped on her big yellow backpack, hopping once to make sure it sat on her back properly. "We're all ready to go?"

Her group nodded, smiling at her. Sango sat on top of Kirara, still a bit too injured and uneasy to walk on her own. Kagome nodded back, swiveling on her heel to face forward, saying, "Let's go."

The group's pace was slow, Sango now on her feet with Kirara on her shoulder. The sound of rustling in the distance called to their attention, making them slow down and look around.

"KAGOME!" The loud voice echoed through the forest, rattling the trees themselves and shaking birds from their leaves.

"Is that...?"

The tornado came into view, sure of who it was. "Oh boy..." Kagome whimpered.

The tornado of wind dispersed, a familiar wolf demon emerging from its sheets of air. He landed in front of Kagome, taking a few steps to stop his momentum. He immediately snatched up Kagome's hands, clasping them in his own.

"'Sup, Kagome?" he asked, grinning.

Kagome stared him directly in the face, not giving a response. Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara watched anxiously. Kagome's silence made Kouga uneasy and concerned, though his grin refused to falter.

"Hi, Kouga," she said, no life to her tone whatsoever.

"I don't smell the mutt nearby, is he hidin' like a coward?"

Kagome's group winced, knowing that comment was far too horribly timed. Miroku very physically cringed, gritting his teeth. Kagome's eyebrows twitched, resisting the urge to furrow with frustration. She took a deep breath and pulled her hands out of Kouga's grip, walking around him. "Let's go, guys."

Kouga's jaw dropped as Kagome passed him by. Her group followed her, Sango not even bothering to look at him. Miroku shook his head and Shippo, who was on his shoulder, said, "Too soon."

"Kouga! Kouga!" Kouga's wolf companions called from afar. "Hi Kagome!" The two said, waving at her.

"Hi, Ginta. Hi, Hakkaku."

The two wolf boys stopped in front of Kouga, resting their hands on their knees and panting.

"Kouga, you can't keep leaving us behind like that..." Ginta panted.

Hakkaku heaved but nodded in agreement. Looking up, he saw Kouga who stared at Kagome as she left.

"Kouga, are you alright?" he asked. "She... She ignored me."

"Why? What'd ya do?" Ginta asked.

Kouga threw his hands up, sputtering, "I-I don't know!" He scratched his face with one of his hands anxiously, the other on his hip. Kagome had never rejected him like that, and Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen either, something was obviously amiss.

He raced back next to Kagome, the gust of his wind making her friends stumble. "Kagome, if you need anythin' you know I'm here for you," he subtly held his arms up, ready for Kagome to fall into them at any moment.

"It's okay," she mumbled.

"Listen, you know I'd do anything for you," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm... sure of it," she said, letting out a weak and breathy laugh.

Kouga looked back at his friends anxiously, his fellow wolf demons looking confused and curious. Kagome's friends on the other hand, glared at him and shook their heads in disapproval. The wolf demon slowed down, Kagome going past him as her group was now next to Kouga. He folded his arms, his face a bit flushed from being shot down by Kagome multiple times.

"What's wrong with her...?"

"I'd say to ask her yourself, but it's apparent you don't know how," Miroku said.

"Ooooh! Sick burn!" Shippo cheered, perched on Miroku's shoulder.

"'Sick burn?' The hell does that mean?" Kouga asked, not sure whether to take offense to it or not. "I don't know. Kagome taught me it."

"Look, Kouga," Sango quickly interjected before Kouga and Shippo could talk about the discussion of 'sick burn'. "To make a long story short, Inuyasha isn't with us anymore, and Kagome isn't taking it too well."

"Not with you guys?" Not with them...? "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THAT DAMN MUTT UP AND DIED, DIDN'T HE?!" Kouga squared up, immediately raising his shoulders and scoffing to take offense on account of Kagome's group.

Sango and Miroku both collectively reached for Kouga's mouth, shutting him up before he could start going on a tirade, though it was too late. The damage was done. Kagome froze up, in turn causing everyone to freeze in their tracks.

"Now look what you've done..." Sango groaned.

They watched Kagome, her body tensing up. Shippo cowered behind Miroku, while Ginta and Hakkaku cowered behind Kouga.

"Kouga, I think you pinched a nerve!" Hakkaku said.

"She's gonna kill you!" Ginta added.

"Gah, don't you think I know that?!" Kouga yelled.

"No..." Kagome sighed, turning around to face them. Her cheeks were tinted red, and her eyes were glossy. She brushed her eyes, making it seems as if she were trying to get some hair out of her face. "It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you or anything like that," she chuckled.

"W...What happened to him? To the mutt?"

Kagome played with the pleats on her skirt. "Naraku took him."

"Took him?"

"Mhm," she nodded. "He erased his memories, and persuaded him to go with him." "He fell for a cheap trick like that?!" Kouga scoffed.

"It's not like that! Naraku clearly put all of his energy into doing this, it's not Inuyasha's fault!" Kagome yelled, clutching her chest as she took a step towards Kouga. Her eyes burned with frustration, but she blinked and looked away, taking another deep breath.

Kouga stared at her, watching her hands trails up to her neck to scratch it anxiously. She dug into her neck as her mind raced. The wolf demon embraced her, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Uh."

"Listen, Kagome, I'm here for you. Since Inutrasha ain't around to protect you —not that he was doin' a good job or anythin'— I'll stay with you and do his job for him, okay? And hey, you can use my bulky shoulders to cry on whenever ya want, they're better than your friends'."

Kagome giggled, the sentiment was definitely appreciated. The nervous bystanders all simultaneously sighed in relief, knowing that Kagome definitely wasn't going to kill Kouga over this.

"Wait, Kouga, does this mean we're joining Kagome's team now?" Ginta asked, cautiously.

"HELL YEAH, IT DOES!"

Silence lurked, as reality set in and Kouga's voice finished echoing through the forest. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo's eyes bored into Kagome's eyes, hoping for a refusal to arise. She was much too awkward to say no.

"If Kouga is with us, it'll be like Inuyasha never even left. But worse!" Miroku leaned over, whispering to Sango, Shippo, and Kirara.

"Erm." Kagome hesitated.

"Let's go, Kagome!" Kouga let go of her, taking off in the direction the group originally headed, unintentionally spinning Kagome around and leaving her dizzy.

Everyone stared at him, the thick gust from his wind slowly getting harder to see as he got farther away.

"Does... he know where we're going?" Miroku asked. "Nope," Sango responded.

"How long do you think it'll take for him to come back, Hakkaku?" Ginta questioned, staring at his partner.

"I'd say right about now."

Hakkaku was right on the money, as Kouga sped back in front of Kagome. Everyone chuckled as Kouga hid his obvious embarrassment of racing ahead with no clue of where he was supposed to be headed.

"I figured, since we're stickin' with you, it'd be best to follow your lead."

"Aha, right."

The day had fallen as night rose once more. Kagome rested, sprawled across Kirara's massive back, breathing noisily through her mouth. The crew still traveled on foot through the plains, Kouga becoming more and more antsy as the end never seemed to come into sight. He folded his arms, tapping his bicep with a finger.

"Where exactly in the hell are we going?" Kouga asked impatiently.

"We're returning to Priestess Kaede's village to send Kagome home. It would be a good time for us to actually recover, and Kagome could stay safe." Sango said.

"Who's Kaede?"

Not feeling like explaining the group's connection to her, Sango simply said, "An ally; no one you need to worry about."

The demon slayer wrinkled her nose, the bleeding stopped hours ago, but the discomfort of congealed blood in there was definitely unpleasant. Her face still throbbed from the impact of Inuyasha's punch, the initial pain of it running through the back of her head. She and Miroku stood guard on both sides of Kirara, making sure to defend Kagome or make sure she didn't fall off of Kirara's side.

Sango observed Kagome's face since she faced in her direction. She looked peaceful, though a glimmer off of her face caught her attention. The streaks of her tears ran across her face, leaking onto Kirara's fur. She must be thinking of Inuyasha.

It'll be okay, Kagome. We'll get Inuyasha back for sure.

It was another two days before they reached Kaede's village, home of the Bone Eater's well.

Kagome and her friends were surprised at Kouga and the other two's presence - they really were not joking about protecting Kagome. Despite the extended time to relax, the lack of a follow-up attack from Inuyasha left Kagome's friends very anxious, unsure of whether they'd be mentally prepared if he returned.

The sun peered down on the group as they entered the village, Kagome leading the pack with Shippo laying on her shoulder.

"We should go to Kaede's house first, and if she isn't there, then we look around," she affirmed, getting strong from her side of the group, and uncertain ones from Kouga's.

Kagome waved at familiar villagers who greeted her and her friends happily.

Approaching the tiny isolated home, Kagome gently moved aside the cloth covering the entrance, peeking inside.

"Lady Kaede? Oh, you're here! What a relief."

Kaede looked up from sharpening her arrowheads in surprise, saying, "Kagome! Nay, I did not expect your return so soon."

"Ah.. yeah, about that," she started, slowly entering inside and waving for her friends to join her.

After a few minutes of explanation with the group sitting adjacent to the priestess, Kaede groaned, having difficulty processing this. "Inuyasha is no longer allied with you?"

Kagome shook her head solemnly, looking down. Sango rubbed her back, hoping to quell those raging emotions for the time being.

"What do you plan to do?"

Kagome scratched underneath her chin with a finger. "Well, I was going to go home for a few days. Since Inuyasha's.. out for my blood, I felt that it might be safer there. I doubt he remembers that he can travel through the well, so I think it'd be okay."

Kaede nodded. "I will see you off," she said, grunting as she got to her feet, Kagome doing the same.

The young priestess waved her friends goodbye, at least for a while. "I'll see you later."

Kouga sat cross-legged, his arms folded. "Are we really sure Kagome is gonna be safe wherever she's goin'?"

Sango nodded.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. She goes to a place that not even we can travel to. Lest Inuyasha doesn't recall it, she'll be perfectly safe."

"'Lest Inuyasha doesn't recall it?' What d'ya mean?"

"Inuyasha possesses the ability to pass through the Bone Eater's well. It takes him to a completely different time, being 500 years in the future, which is where Kagome originates."

"500 years in the future? I find that hard to believe."

"But doesn't it explain how she dresses?" Shippo added. "Yeah... I guess so."

The remainder of Kagome's group occupied Kaede's tiny home, enjoying their tiny meal of rice with herbs and vegetables in silence. Without Kagome, talking felt almost pointless. Her presence completely changed the atmosphere when she was around.

Kouga shot up, looking in the direction of the entrance. He set aside his bowl, getting up to peek outside.

"Kouga?" Ginta piped up first, as everyone stared at him. "I'm hearin' buzzing."

Just hearing the word "buzz" set Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara on high alert, Shippo and Kirara's tails standing up on edge.

"I've been hearing it since yesterday - only barely. Thought I've been goin' insane. But it's getting louder, and whatever it is is getting closer," Kouga continued, his ears wiggling.

"It might be Naraku's Saimyosho, his poisonous insects. If so, we have to destroy them quickly," Miroku said, reaching for his staff.

"Hold your horses, I don't need your help. I got this," he said, already out of the tiny house, his wind blowing around everyone's hair and clothes.

He trailed the noises to their source, a group of 4 or 5 Saimyosho huddled together in the air. Kouga swiped at them easily, destroying them into chunks of demon flesh at the contact of his nails. Each and every one of them took the quick destruction without any evasion or retaliation, setting off a red flag in Kouga's head.

"Kouga!" Miroku called out, the rest of the group following behind him.

"You know if those things can be used to spy through?"

Miroku gasped, stopping near the wolf demon. "More than likely."

"Well, then I'd think it's safe to assume that Naraku's been spyin' on us. He knows where we are."


	5. Chapter 5

Inuyasha hissed, yanking out the other arrow lodged in his body. Blood spurted out of the wound, painting the floor's wooden panels with droplets of scarlet blood. He flung it behind him, the arrow clinking on the floor, flicking off drops of blood that bathed the arrowhead.

"You'll teach me how to use this Tessaiga? This sword?"

Naraku nodded, a subtle smile curved on his lips. "Take it out, and see what happens."

Inuyasha's golden eyes shot at the sword rested in its sheath. He raised his hand to grip it, the torn and worn cloth wrapped around its handle feel nice against his hand. He pulled it out slowly, the light that glowed around it when it put it away for the first time not returning.

Inuyasha's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, his ears perking up to follow. "It's not big?" "As expected," Naraku said. "You fail to realize what activates your sword's true form." "True form? You mean, when the blade was huge?"

"Yes. Its true form is spurred from your own compassion towards humans."

_Kikyo._

Images of the late priestess flashed through Inuyasha's head, running past his eyes like film. His grip on the sword tightened, feeling it pulse in his hand. The sudden life in the sword startled him, forcing out a gasp as his hand impulsively let the blade go. It clanked on the wooden panels, rattling on the floor.

"I presume you felt its power."

Inuyasha looked between the sword and Naraku warily. "How do you know all this?"

"I have my ways."

"The more you don't tell me anything, the more suspicious you get."

Naraku chuckled. Man, that really set Inuyasha on edge.

"Your suspicion does not concern me. But regardless, you must know that I am on your side. "

_My side_, Inuyasha thought. "What side would that be? Why are you interested in me? Why do you want to help me? Are you even helping me at all?!" His confusion and frustration flew out of him. Naraku sent him out and almost had him killed, now he's acting as if he knows everything about him.

"Why of course, the side that wants to see you become a full demon." "How do you know that?!" Inuyasha snapped.

Naraku stayed silent, his eyes boring into Inuyasha's. His expression did not shift, nor did it falter, but it was obvious that Inuyasha's exploding turmoil took him aback.

"You've become quite a household name amongst demons. The half-breed, Inuyasha, who holds insurmountable amounts of strength. Demons vie for your death, and it'd only be safe to assume that half-demon such as yourself would be interested in becoming a full demon. We all know that the Shikon jewel can prove this dream to be a reality," Naraku's tongue was slick, knowing exactly what to say to make his pieces fall into place.

Inuyasha lowered his guard down again, taking his own time to figure if what Naraku was saying was true. He had no choice but to believe it, he already had a piece of the jewel shard in his grasp, and he just might get more. He shook his head and looked back at Naraku, showing that he had calmed down a bit.

"Perhaps you should try to use the Tessaiga again, Inuyasha," Naraku said, gesturing at it.

Inuyasha bent down to grab the handle, his nails briskly scraping on the floor as he picked up the sword. He readied it in front of him, wrapping his other hand around it and gripping tightly.

My compassion for humans. The only one I care about- cared about.. was Kikyo.

The sword pulsed again, engulfed in light and the blade grew. Inuyasha's eyes widened, his eyes scaling the blade from hilt to the tip of its blade in utter amazement. As the thought of Kikyo quickly slipped his mind, the blade shrunk to its regular size again, Inuyasha sputtering silently in confusion and disappointment.

"Within enough time, you are bound to figure out how to properly use your sword," Naraku said, standing up, only to face away from Inuyasha. "You may go."

Inuyasha huffed, turning up his nose a bit as he put the Tessaiga back into its scabbard. He turned away from Naraku, making his way out of the room and outside. Naraku stayed quiet until he could no longer hear his footsteps. He looked to the side of the room, gazing into the pure black shadows that obscured it.

"Kanna."

He waited, then a young looking girl clad in pure white took delicate steps from the shadows that obscured her. Despite her soft and quiet movements, she firmly held a large circular mirror in her arms.

"Naraku..." she said, her voice wistful and quiet.

"I want you to show me the whereabouts of Kagome and her group."

"As you wish..." she said, the mirror in her arms lighting up in a bright light. Once the light cleared, the view of a forest could be seen through the mirror. In the far distance, a girl and her group of comrades made their way slowly through the terrain.

"At this distance, it's impossible that they will be able to spot my Saimyosho," His grin spread, smugness radiating from his expression. "Perfect."

Inuyasha trudged through the halls, finicking with his wounds through the holes in his clothes. He chipped away at dry blood that trailed down his thumb, his nail getting caught under the congealed liquid then freed once a section of the blood cracked off. He wiggled his finger out of the hole in his clothes, moving his hand from his shoulder to his face. The skin was raised, stained a bright red from the bruising. Some of the skin had been broken from the impact of getting slammed in the face with a giant boomerang, the tiny wounds lined with hardened blood. It stung upon contact, his skin sending out tiny waves of pain every time he tapped the bruise curiously.

The inside of his mouth had been lined with blood from the same injury, some of it on his lips and lined on his teeth. His focus on his injuries were dismantled by a tug on the back of his robe. He sucked in a harsh breath as his shoulders raised up in recoil, his eyebrows wrinkling downwards with clenching teeth. He snapped around, raising his clawed hand— freezing when he noticed the boy from prior. He flinched, pulling his arms back close to himself and slightly turning away from Inuyasha.

He stared up at the half-demon with wide eyes, shock struck through him. His mouth opened, a voice creaking from between his lips. "You are the same Inuyasha I met before, right?" he suddenly spat up, turning back to Inuyasha again.

"Eh?" Inuyasha stood upright, his head slightly tilting to the side. "I've only seen you once. Yesterday."

"That can't be right..." the boy murmured, lowering his arms and looking down. "The hell do you mean? Who are you?"

"Before you came here, you were with a team, and.. and... you helped me," he paused. "I'm Kohaku."

"Team?"

Kohaku nodded. "One of them kept saying that she was my sister. I don't remember her. I don't remember anyone. I want to believe her though, at least just to fill this void in my head..." he trailed off, getting riled up by his own emotions.

Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat. What the boy said the day before played back at him.

_I think... you're just like me._

"You don't remember anything?"

Kohaku looked up into Inuyasha's amber eyes, but averted his own soon after. He shook his head.

"I probably wouldn't want to remember... If I've forgotten something, then it should stay that way, right?"

Inuyasha thought about it. He was obviously missing something too, but what would he benefit from remembering what he couldn't?

Kohaku stammered, "U-uh, do you want to go outside? You looked like you were heading out there anyway."

Inuyasha folded his arms and shrugged, turning back around. "Sure. Why not?"

Kohaku slipped in front of him, speed walking to the castle's entrance and slid it open. He stood outside, holding it open for Inuyasha. He stepped outside, the sun's light hitting him in the face- the brightness forcing his eyes to adjust again. It seemed to always be so horribly dark and chilly inside the castle, he had no idea why. Being outside again was relieving, it completely contrasted from being in there. It was nice, warm, and almost peaceful.

"Yo, Kohaku. Do you know if there's any lakes around here? I need to wash my clothes," Inuyasha said.

Kohaku nodded. "I know of one. It's a bit of a walk though, sorry," he scratched the back of his head.

"Eh, don't care. As long as there is one, that's all that matters."

Kohaku nodded again, swiveling on his heel to lead Inuyasha to the aforementioned lake. The two arrived after passing through a tightly packed forest that surrounded the castle. The water glistened with the sun light, its rays reflecting directly into the young men's eyes.

"Perfect. Thanks, Kohaku," Inuyasha said, immediately walking to the shore and stripping. He untied the knot from his pants, the cloth immediately loosening and falling to the ground.

Kohaku gasped, turning around and sitting on the dirt.

Inuyasha looked back at him, scowling. "What're you freaking out about?" "I- I assumed you'd want your privacy," Kohaku stammered.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, slipping his arms out of the top part of his robe and letting it fall behind him. He stepped out of his pants and pulled off the clothes under it, and hung it over his arm. He slipped his foot under the pants, kicking it up into the air so he needn't bend down. He didn't kick it straight up, having to take a step forward to lean and catch it. He did the same with the top of his robe, kicking it up directly into his face though it assured he caught it.

Inuyasha walked into the lake, clenching his teeth from the freezing cold that surrounded his body the further he walked into the large body of water. His reflection in the water caught his attention, immediately grabbing his abdomen. A scar, a huge scar stained his skin. He ran his hand over the dark, rough tissue, seeing just how big it was. It was disgusting, it was concerning, and Inuyasha had no idea how it got there.

_WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!_

His confusion turned to rage again, using the hand that caressed the scar to smash into the surface of the lake with a very big splash. The eruption from his fist's impact slapped water right into his face, making him a lot colder than he wanted to be. The force of the water ended up throwing a now sopping wet robe sleeve onto his face.

He sighed angrily, pulling the sleeve off of his head. He pulled out the clothes that he wore underneath the robe from his arm. Its once dingy complexion was now stained by huge patches of blood that pooled around tiny holes in the fabric.

He first started with his undergarments - being closer to his skin let it suck up more of the blood from his wounds. The blood had set a bit in the fabric, but it was still relatively fresh. He did his best to scrub out the blood, his hands growing number the longer he stayed in the freezing water. He rushed to wash the rest of his clothes, trying to run out of the lake when he finished.

He rubbed the scar again once he got back onshore, trying to see if anything — anything could help him remember what caused it. A faint feeling rose in the back of his mind.

I was stabbed. Dammit, that was pretty obvious.

That little recollection proved to be of little help. Who or what had he been stabbed from, and why? How?

Inuyasha shook his head then crouched down, balling his hands into fists as he shook out the water off of his skin and from his hair, water flying everywhere. Kohaku flinched when the first few splatters of water hit him, scrambling further away from Inuyasha to not get any wetter. The half- demon stood up and stretched, then wrung out his still damp hair, grabbing all of it and resting it over his right shoulder, right in the light of the sun.

He laid out his clothes on the ground, making sure to put the clothes he wore under the robe on top of it, making sure no dirt or leaves got on it. It'd definitely be uncomfortable to put on then. He sunbathed for a bit while on his feet, enjoying the sun's hot rays all over his body. It helped his hair dry easier.

"Mister Inuyasha? How'd you get that scar on your back?"

Inuyasha's ears shot up. Scar? Back? He tried to twist his torso around to see it but just ended up cracking his neck. He reached behind him and frantically scaled every inch of backside, his hands landing on another huge scar. He felt the scar on his front side, realizing that they were both in the same spot. A clean wound, from front to back.

Kohaku waited patiently for an answer. Inuyasha grasped at his memories, trying to recall when he had gotten the scar. Coming up with nothing, he sighed. "I don't remember that either," he muttered.

"Oh... I'm sorry."

"Eh. It's whatever," he said, picking up his undergarments. He wrung it out, then shook out some water and slipped it on him. It was still pretty damp, but the sun would make it dry up easily.

The Tessaiga stayed nestled against Inuyasha's waist as it called for his attention. He gripped it, pulling it out from his sheath, the blade coming out huge like the last time.

He gasped, his smile widening. A wave of pride washed over him- he'd done it! He could now access the Tessaiga's true form whenever he wanted! Where did this just come from so suddenly?

'Its true form is spurred from your own compassion towards humans.'

My compassion towards humans? He looked back at Kohaku, who perked up and waved at him

sheepishly. It has to be him.

"Kohaku, I'm going back now."

"Oh... already?" he sighed, twiddling his fingers.

Inuyasha groaned, "Fine. I'll stay a few more minutes- but don't ask for me to stay any longer!"

Kohaku smiled softly, scooting closer to Inuyasha. He scoffed, putting away his sword again and dealing with his clothes again. After a bit of enjoying one another's company in silence, Inuyasha began to head back, Kohaku reluctantly following behind him. Inuyasha slammed open the entrance's sliding door, letting Kohaku close it after him.

He stormed into Naraku's room, him sitting in the same place as he always did. "Naraku," Inuyasha started. "I'm able to wield the Tessaiga at will now."

"Oh? I would say I'm impressed, but I should have expected it. Your natural talent far surpasses most demons, Inuyasha," Naraku said.

Inuyasha really didn't know whether to accept this "compliment" from Naraku or to not. "Before you leave, I must inform you about something."

"Hm?"

"There is another demon, a wolf demon, who's joined Kagome's group. He too possesses jewel shards, both in his legs. Retrieve them."

"Wolf demon? You know his name?"

"Kouga, but I doubt that information would serve you any purpose. Regardless, I will send you out now. Let Kagura fly you there. Oh— and take Kohaku with you."

"Kohaku?" Right, Kohaku was obviously with Naraku for a reason. He can fight too, apparently. "Does Kagura do anything else that isn't just to fly us around?"

"She has her own manners of fighting. Be on your way, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, leaving the room.

Kagura and Kohaku stood outside the door, Kagura watching Inuyasha intently. Kohaku stared past him, now garbed in a demon slayer's outfit. He held a chained weapon with a blade on its end with a tight grip. His brown eyes were dark and empty, his face lacking any light to it whatsoever.

Inuyasha looked at Kagura, nodding, "Let's go."

Ginta and Hakkaku stayed closely packed next to Kouga, weary of the impending threat of Inuyasha. The three had no idea what threat he had now become, but seeing that he'd nearly killed all his friends and Kagome, he was obviously a lot to handle.

"Kouga, you think Inuyasha is going to come after us?" Ginta asked.

"Probably not after _us,_ but he's definitely coming here," Kouga responded, nonchalantly. "From everythin' the monk told us, he just wants to kill Kagome. AND LIKE HELL AM I GONNA LET THAT HAPPEN!" He yelled, clenching a fist.

"I hope he doesn't attack us..." Hakkaku whimpered.

"I want him to attack us. I'll beat him into the damned dirt for ever thinking of hurting Kagome."

"But didn't they say that he's under Naraku's control? I don't think it's his choice!"

"Hell if I care. A chance to kill Inuyasha is a chance I'm willin' to take. Been a while since I've seen his ugly face, too."

"You're the only person in the world who's eager to see someone just to fight them," Ginta whispered.

Kouga knocked Ginta over the head, the weaker wolf demon crying out in pain. "WHAT'D YOU SAY?!"

"Kouga!" a shrill voice called out for him. "Huh?"

Shippo scampered to him on all fours, skidding to a stop at Kouga's feet. "We've been looking for you guys for hours!"

"What for?"

"Well, it's almost time for dinner. The sun is setting, and Lady Kaede told me to tell you that she had hoped we'd spend dinner with her and the other villagers."

"Hanging out with humans? Not interested," Kouga huffed, folding his arms and looked away, shutting his eyes.

"Not even if there's a lot of food? She practically said it's going to be a feast," Shippo said slyly, hoping he'd be able to convince him.

"Food?" Kouga's cronies chimed in synchronization. "Boy, I wouldn't mind eating a whole lot... Our meal from last night still left me wanting more!"

They both watered at the mouth, Kouga growling at them in return. "Fine. We'll tag along for your dinner tonight, but don't get used to this being an everyday thing," he said, pointing at Shippo, his arms still folded.

"Okay! Follow me!" Shippo immediately scampered off back to the gathering site. Due to being so tiny, his pace was not hard to keep up with at all, so the three just walked behind him as the tiny fox demon ran as fast as he could.

Sango and Miroku greeted the returning group, waving at them. Villagers mingled happily near the two, laughing amongst one another. The sun began setting, the heat from the day turning into a mellow warm as the orange atmosphere surrounded everyone. Shippo rushed up and jumped into Sango's arms.

Kouga stopped midstep, his hair standing up. Ginta and Hakkaku both bumped into his back from the sudden halt.

"Kouga, what's wrong-"

"The mutt. He's here!" he pointed to the outskirts of the village.

It was hard to see, but Inuyasha's red clothes were easily recognizable. He walked with two others, them following behind him closely.

"Kohaku!" Sango screamed, rushing forward and tossing Shippo aside. "Sango, wait!" Miroku yelled after her.

Sango and Miroku shoved past Kouga, forcing him to chase after them. Miroku reached out, grabbing Sango by the back of her kimono's collar and pulled her back, forcing her to stop.

"Let me go, Miroku!"

"Sango, I can't! You still haven't recovered. Don't you remember what happened last time?! I can't let you get injured again!"

"But—!"

"I will do all that I can to get back Kohaku and Inuyasha. Just please, go back and protect the villagers."

"Move it, mortals!" Kouga said, rushing up to get the first hit on Inuyasha.

Inuyasha took note of the demon pursuing him and took a running start at him. He lept from roof to roof, and once close enough to Kouga, he lunged at him with his claws. Kouga ducked underneath him, his momentum let him skid on the dirt until they were about a yard apart.

Inuyasha cracked his knuckles, saying, "Are you Kouga, the wolf demon?"

"I am," he stood up, resting a fist on his waist. "And you're still that no good mutt, Inuyasha."

"_**Mutt?**_" Inuyasha gritted his teeth to the point of his jaws hurting. "Don't _ever_ call me that."

"Oh great, now he's done it," Miroku sighed, sending off Sango to go to the rest of the villagers.

Inuyasha's focused blurred as he could only see red. He was fine with being called a half-demon, a hanyou, but not a mutt.

"Iron Reaver..." he leapt for Kouga at an alarming speed. "SOUL STEALER!" He swung for the wolf demon's face, leaving a bright trail of light from his nails.

The quick attack only left Kouga with enough time to lean way back, bending his legs to get him lower to the ground. He saw a few strands of his hair fly loose as Inuyasha grazed his ponytail. Positioning his arms so his palms were flat on the ground next to his head, Kouga raised up his legs, shooting them out straight to dig his heels right into Inuyasha's stomach.

The force of the kick sent him flying behind Kouga, but he landed on his feet easily. He wasted no time charging at him again. He swiped at Kouga's face, aiming to claw out his eyes.

"Was that— supposed— to hurt?!" Inuyasha yelled between swipes.

_Damn it, he's way too fast now._ Kouga thought as he narrowly evaded every swipe, feeling the wind brush past his nose.

After another swipe was thrown, Kouga ducked and stuck out his leg. He swiveled on his toes, letting the power of his jewel shards in his legs allow him to sweep Inuyasha's legs with lightning speed. It was so fast that it made Inuyasha's entire body do a full 360 before slamming into the ground face first.

Kouga snapped up, raising his leg up to bring it back down on Inuyasha's head. He rolled out of the way, springing back onto his feet. He tackled Kouga to the ground, sitting on his armored chest to pin him down. He curled his hand into a tight fist, swinging down on Kouga's face relentlessly.

The woman and the boy who had accompanied Inuyasha watched the fight ensue from nearby. "I'd thought we would've needed to help Inuyasha," Kagura said, holding her fan up to her lip. Kohaku remained silent.

Kouga groaned after every quick punch that snapped his head from side to side, blood splattering on the ground. He raised up a hand to catch one punch, then the other, tightening his grip tremendously and dug his nails into Inuyasha's hands.

Paper slips with writing inscribed on it slapped onto Inuyasha's chest and face, electrocuting and immobilizing him for the time being. He clenched his eyelids shut, letting out a blood curdling yell of pain— it being cut off shortly with a wack to the side of his head with a staff, sending him rolling aside.

"Or, maybe we do need to help him," Kagura said. Kohaku raised his weapons and charged forward.

"Sorry, Inuyasha!" Miroku said, grabbing Kouga under the shoulders and tried to drag him away Inuyasha as fast as possible. "Kouga, are you alright?"

Kouga spat out a wad of blood onto the dirt. "Get offa me, I'm just peachy," he growled, forcing himself loose of Miroku's grasp and onto his feet.

Inuyasha wobbled back up, glaring daggers into Miroku and Kouga. Before he could attack again, it just earned him another sacred sutra to the face, immobilizing him again.

A chained blade flew, impaling itself in Kouga's right arm as he blocked it from reaching his head. He hissed in pain, them both looking at the new attacker. Kohaku stood closeby, yanking the blade from Kouga's arm by his chain.

"Kouga!"

"Stop worrying about me!" Kouga rushed to the boy, readying a punch for him. Inuyasha slid in front of Kohaku, staring the wolf demon down.

Kouga sent the punch flying anyway, Inuyasha catching it and returning it with a hard uppercut to the jaw. Kouga choked, his head snapping up as drops of blood flew from his mouth.

"All this, and I didn't even need my Tessaiga. For someone with two jewel shards, you're still _weak_."

A voice rung in Inuyasha's head that was not his own, snapping him out of his rage towards the opposing demon.

_Let Kagura and Kohaku deal with those two. I'll give you something more important to attend to._

Kagura and Kohaku too froze up, receiving messages of their own shortly after.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Guess I don't have time to waste with weaklings like you two," he said, leaping off.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Kouga yelled, beginning to give chase with Miroku.

A tornado of harsh winds surrounded Kouga, trapping him inside while Kohaku swung in front of Miroku, stopping him in his tracks.

"It's our turn," Kagura said, walking slowly as she caught up with Kohaku.

Inuyasha leapt through the forests nearby, following Naraku's instructions. He glanced a large tree as he passed by— the tree he had been sealed to. The exact spot where Kikyo had betrayed him. He had no time to reminisce, as he got through the forest and landed in a clearing.

"This is definitely it," Inuyasha said, looking at a nearby well.

Kagome's folded arms rested on the top of an open textbook, her face nestled in them. Her eyes began to sag, struggling to keep them open for at least a few minutes more of studying. Before realizing, her eyes were closed as she crept into slumber.

Nails raked on the inside of the well, grazing the stone walls inside of it.

Kagome's eyes flashed open, shooting up. She rubbed her head groggily, running her fingers through her hair. She looked back at Souta, who slept comfortably curled up on her bed. Her heart was filled with warmth as she watched her little brother sleep so peacefully. Interrupting her tranquility came a shiver quickly that shot through her spine, a malicious pressure surrounding her whole body.

She scrambled out of her chair, freezing up once she got on her feet. She eyed her window, inching to her bed. Kagome placed her hands on Souta's shoulders, rustling him slightly. He groaned, shifting onto his other, earning a harder jostle.

"What is it, Kagome?" he whined softly, rubbing his eyes.

"I've got a bad feeling about something," she said, still staring at her window. "Get up!" Kagome practically pulled him off the bed and onto his feet, urging him to her bedroom door.

The window shattered, glass shards flying all over the room. Inuyasha hopped through, landing on balls of his feet to not step on any shards. Kagome shrieked, holding her brother close to her, keeping his body turned into hers.

"Inuyasha!" she gasped.

Inuyasha growled, raising his claws. "Prepare to die."


	6. Chapter 6

The white haired half-demon and the black haired girl stared at each other until Kagome broke the gaze by glancing over at her desk before looking back at Inuyasha. His eyes snapped to where she'd looked, seeing 3 sacred jewel shards collected in a tiny bottle sitting on a desk.

Exactly what I'm looking for! Inuyasha thought.

He jumped for the bottle, throwing out his hand.

Kagome gasped upon even seeing him look at the glass container, shrieking, "INUYASHA, SIT! "

The girl's cry made him freeze up and caused the beads around his chest to glow. What the-! The beads forcibly dragged his whole body down to the floor, subsequently slamming his face down onto the end of the desk. Bringing down the front of the desk with him, the back of the desk flew up, turning it into a catapult.

Everything on Kagome's desk flew off of it, a multitude of books thudding on top of Inuyasha. Time slowed as Kagome watched the jar of jewel shards fly up into the air. Keeping her eyes locked on it as it flew up, moving Souta behind her as she jumped up and snatched it out of the air. Stumbling a bit on her toes to avoid the glass shards on the floor, she hopped away and rushed back over to her younger brother who watched in paralyzed fear.

"Souta, come on!" Kagome practically scooped him up under her arm then frantically opened her door. "Just in case... SIT! " she screamed again.

Inuyasha, who was starting to recover from being slammed into a table, slammed into the ground again with a loud yelp. She ran down the hallway, Souta groaning in her arm.

"Kagome, is something happening?" her mother asked from down the hall, emerging from the room, her grandfather following suit.

Kagome shoved Souta into her mom's arms, him latching around her. "Sorry mom, I'll explain later. Please hide in your rooms, trust me!" she said, turning around and running down the stairs. The pink slippers slapped against the floor, she was thankful she wasn't barefoot.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha screamed, his voice echoing through the house. Kagome could hear him coming after her at alarming speeds, tearing up the hallway walls in the process.

She slid open the door to her house, rushing out and not even bothering to close it. Kagome was met with the cold air from outside, goosebumps immediately running up her skin. Her pink pajamas were not good at keeping her warm. Sprinting to her family's well she clenched her hand, holding the jewel shards tight in it.

I need help. I need to get back to the well!

Looking behind her, Inuyasha quickly closed the difference between them, ready to tear her to pieces.

"Sit!" Kagome said.

He slammed into the ground again but got back to his feet faster. _I don't think that's gonna work much longer...!_

Though, it was a helpful distraction- it widened the distance between them once more. The little shack that held the well came into her view. Her legs ached with the desire to rest as she continued to sprint, her lungs burning. She didn't expect to have such a workout so late at night in pajamas. The door was in her reach, but her relief came too soon.

Her leg locked the second it connected with the ground again, her momentum subsequently launching her into the door. Kagome's body smashed into the door, throwing her down the stairs. She shrieked as she felt every corner of the little steps jut into her sides. She hissed at the pain as her body was thrown on the ground, right in front of the well. Her head spun, luckily she hadn't hit it on the fall. She rolled on her back, slowly trying to sit up.

A blur of a body flew over her head, landing on the well in front of her. Inuyasha turned around to face her, standing up on the ledge. His feet curled around the wood, ensuring that he wouldn't lose his balance.

"Funny place you've run off to, _Kagome_," he said.

She hated the way he said her name as if it were stupid. It was antagonizing, it was condescending. Memories of him looking at her with mellow and cautious eyes, of him yelling her name out of concern or even playful frustration rolled through her mind. The thought that Naraku took that Inuyasha away from her made her face flush with the heat of anger.

"Inuyasha..." she growled. One of his eyebrows raised.

"JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Kagome screamed, standing up. She was still a bit loopy from the sudden fall, and her knee ached a bit, but this pain could not top the wrenching agony that knotted itself around her heart.

His ears perked up and his eyes widened, blinking a few times, he certainly didn't expect her to respond that way to someone threatening her life.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW AWFUL IT FEELS TO BE ATTACKED WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO RELAX?!" she screamed, tippy-toeing to get into extreme proximity of Inuyasha's face. He wobbled a bit, leaning back.

As Kagome glared up at him in the face, she observed his differing features. His eyelashes were extremely sharp and bold, and his eyes cold. Seeing the purple streaks etched into his cheeks made her frustrated, but not at him, only to Naraku. He was taken aback by Kagome's outburst, his surprised expression the only thing that made him look as innocent as he once did prior.

"THE HELL DO YOU MEAN 'WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE'? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" he yelled back as he leaned down, smashing his forehead into hers.

The two teemed with frustration, not letting either of them be pushed back by each other's foreheads.

"I'M KAGOME HIGURASHI," she yelled, screwing her eyes shut as she put all of her strength into pushing Inuyasha back. "AND I JUST HAPPEN TO BE THE ONE WHO UNSEALED YOU FROM THE TREE!"

Inuyasha blinked, sucking in a quick gasp, the abrupt statement catching him off guard. Taken off balance, he wobbled on one foot, his arms swinging around frantically. Before he fell into the well he hopped back from the opening, landing on the ground behind the well.

Kagome took the opportunity to jump into the well, still clutching the jewel shard close to her heart. She heard Inuyasha scream "WENCH!" from above her, spiking her anxiety.

_Why did I do that?! He could've killed me! I'm almost sure he would have..._ she thought, her own voice running frantically through her mind. Coming up face to face with someone who had the intention of killing her- she should've been scared at the least. In fact, she was scared. She was terrified. Terrified of the thought of someone who she cared for deeply just killing her without a thought, with no regard or memory to the time they'd shared before.

But even then, she knew that he was still Inuyasha, the same Inuyasha who she'd spent months with. She hoped her harsh reminder of who freed him in the first place would actually spur some memories.

The blue haze of the well surrounded her as she traveled from the present to 500 years in the past. Kagome glanced behind her, seeing Inuyasha traveling behind her, his teeth gritted. She was thankful, that he wasn't near her, and that her family was no longer in danger. At least for now.

The glow around her faded away, softly landing on the ground of the well. She kicked off her slippers and shoved the bottle of jewel shards in between her teeth, jumping onto the wall and tried to climb up as fast as she was capable. She was used to Inuyasha or her family helping her out, trying to scale a well on her own was not the least bit fun. The rocks that lined the inside of the well's walls were greeted by Kagome's hands and feet as she anxiously tried to get grips on it. Her hands ached every time she hoisted her self up one, and her heart pounded with every passing second that Inuyasha wasn't behind her.

Her arms burned, and her shoulders felt like they wanted to disconnect from her body. As adrenaline pumped through her veins, she ignored the pain and exhaustion surging through her body. She dug her nails into the wood of the well's ledge, struggling to pull herself up. She dropped the tiny bottle out from her mouth, it landing on the grassy ground with a barely audible "clink".

A cold, rough hand wrapped itself around Kagome's ankle in a firm grip, trying to yank her down again as she cried out. She strained to hold onto the well, trying to shake off Inuyasha from her. His grip only got tighter as he yanked her again, almost making Kagome lose her own.

"Someone— please help!" she cried at the top of her lungs, the volume of it scratching at the insides of her throat.

"Quit your crying, wench," Inuyasha growled from down below.

Screwing her eyes shut, remorse filled her heart as she raised her free foot, making sure to grip the well tighter. She hesitated, but brought her foot down onto Inuyasha's face, hearing a yelp from the pain inflicted.

She kicked him a few times, jabbing her heel right into his forehead and on his nose until he let go.

_I'm sorry, Inuyasha! I'm so sorry!_

Hoisting herself out of the well, she grabbed the bottle off the ground, taking a sprinting start back in the direction of Kaede's village.

Kagome panted, the adrenaline wearing off from her blood as the pain really settled in. Between quick and hard breaths, she took a big one and screamed out "HELP!"

A flurry of white hair peeked out in the corner of her eye, her head turning to meet it. Inuyasha outstretched his claws, swinging one arm up to meet Kagome. Turning around, she yelped, bringing up her arms in front of her face to cover herself.

Inuyasha claws raked up Kagome's right arm, cleanly cutting through the pink pajamas she wore. She cried out, letting go of the tiny jar as Inuyasha cut through her skin. He smirked as his fingers were dyed red, thin trails of the priestess' blood dripping off of his nails, the smell of her blood filling his lungs. The shard in his heart grew dimmer.

Kagome's mind went blank as she fell to the ground, curling up as she grabbed her oozing wound. Her face scrunched up, fighting back the urge to scream and cry.

Inuyasha grabbed the jewel shards, holding up the jar between his index finger and thumb. "Thanks for the gift, Kagome, but you didn't need to be so fussy about it," he looked down at the girl bleeding into the dirt and grass.

She wouldn't open her eyes, but she was alive. The pathetic sounds that Inuyasha heard from her confirmed it.

"Inuyasha..." she whimpered, barely audible.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Please... don't do this," Kagome choked out. "It's... Naraku. Please. Don't listen to him."

_What would she know about Naraku?_

Inuyasha was interrupted before he could even question her.

"HIRAIKOTSU!" a voice yelled, followed by a giant boomerang cutting through the trees at Inuyasha. He jumped back, letting the boomerang dig into the ground he'd stood on before it flew back up into the sky.

Sango emerged from the forest with Shippo on her shoulder. "Kagome!" they both cried.

Kagome trembled as she tried to sit up, her arms buckling underneath her. The heat she felt from the adrenaline wisped away as cold washed over her. The loss of blood she was suffering didn't help this either.

"Sango..." she whispered.

"Oh my god!" She dropped on her knees in front of Kagome. "What happened?!"

"Please... don't worry about me," she grabbed Sango's kimono and pulled her down so that her mouth was by Sango's ear. "Please. Please get back the jewel shards, but don't hurt Inuyasha too badly, okay?"

Sango looked up at Inuyasha, who raced past them back through the forest.

"But-"

"Sango, please. I'll get back to the village."

Sango clenched her teeth, standing up and chasing after Inuyasha. Raising her hand above her head, her Hiraikotsu flew back into her grasp. She readied herself, leaning back and throwing the boomerang forward in Inuyasha's direction. It spun vertically so as to avoid hitting trees and slowing down.

Kagome slowly got to her feet again, grasping the wound to stop the blood flow. She couldn't bear to look at her arm and hands stained with her own blood, it was disgusting, and she wanted to faint. Her own desire to retrieve the jewel shards overpowered her brain's desire to black out, forcing her to run after Sango and Shippo. She was grateful her legs were working for the most part, they definitely weren't once she really got the time to rest. Shaking her head, she groaned. _I'm going to be sore for days..._

She took a deep breath.

"SIT!" her head spun after that scream, but she persisted on, hearing her voice echo through the forest.

"Oh, dammi-" Inuyasha was dragged down again, snapping the branch he had just landed on. The Hiraikotsu slammed into him square in the back, forcing out a sharp yell from his chest. The jar flew from his hand, landing in a bush nearby. After slamming into Inuyasha, the Hiraikotsu jammed itself into a tree, jutting out of the bark.

Inuyasha still slammed into the ground, his limbs spread out. He groaned in frustration, jumping up to his feet and faced Sango.

She skidded to a halt, bracing herself for an attack. Shippo growled at Inuyasha, but stayed relatively obscured behind Sango's shoulder.

"Not so big without your boomerang, huh, wench?"

"Hey!" Shippo jolted up, pointing at Inuyasha. "She has a name, and it's Sango! Use it!" Inuyasha sneered at the fox demon, who went back to angrily cowering.

Sango clicked something, and two blades raised from underneath her sleeves, tearing through them. She held up her arms and spread her legs, readying herself in a fighting stance.

"Shippo, are you sure you want to stay with me?"

He nodded, but still cowered, saying, "I want to fight!"

Inuyasha cracked his neck, then lunged for the demon slayer and the lesser demon.

"Damn it, what in the hell?!" Kouga cursed to himself, shielding his eyes from the dirt flying around him. He couldn't see past the thick gusts of wind swirling around him. "I ain't fallin' for the same trick twice," he said, squatting. His own wind circled underneath his legs, launching him up and out of Kagura's tornado.

"Dance of Blades!" Kagura yelled immediately upon seeing Kouga emerge. She swung her fan, sweeping a barrage of sharp blades of wind at Kouga.

He yelped, doing his best to narrowly avoid the attacks in midair. Kouga landed on his feet with a hard thud, hissing from the pain of his feet slamming into the ground. He sprung forward at Kagura, who sent off another gust of wind at him to throw him back. It tossed him on his back, and he rolled back and sprung up on his feet.

"I don't have time to waste with you," Kouga growled, swiveling on his heel to try and take off in Inuyasha's direction.

Wind swirled around Kagura, the same vortex quickly appearing in front of Kouga, bringing him to an unwanted halt. He glared at her, balling his hand into a fist as he let the power of the jewel shards allow him to sprint right up to her with ease.

He swung for her face, barely missing as she used her own wind to shove her out of the way.

"If you think I'm going to let you get your disgusting hands on my face again, you're sorely mistaken," Kagura said, holding her fan in front of her legs and swinging it up into the air, yelling, "Dance of the Dragon!"

The sky swirled, spinning down multiple tornadoes to surround Kouga with the intent of tearing him to pieces. Many nearby homes were torn to pieces from her attack.

Miroku and Kohaku who fought nearby had their attention shifted to Kagura's large attack. Feeling a strong gust targeting the two, Miroku grabbed Kohaku by the wrist and pulled him out of the tornado's line of fire.

Kohaku gave no reaction, just stumbled across the ground from Miroku's quick save. He looked up at him with hollow eyes, his lips parting to say, "Your empathy towards this child will be your downfall."

It was, in fact, Kohaku's monotone voice that left his body but Naraku's words that littered his speech.

"Naraku?!"

"I cannot afford to be distracted by the likes of you."

Kohaku raised his free arm, weapon in hand, with the intent of stabbing Miroku on the head. Miroku batted his hand away with his staff, knocking the bladed part of the Kusarigama away from him.

"Kohaku, you need to listen to me. I have no intention of killing you, but you have to stop! Your sister needs to see you again."

Kohaku groaned, stepping back. His face turned into that of distress, letting out light groans as he tried to take control of his own body.

_I wish I could save him from Naraku's grasp... for Sango's sake, and especially for his own._

Kagome's pace slowed, but she followed the sound of nearby fighting and grunting to Sango and Inuyasha's location. She hid behind a tree, sliding behind a few more to get closer to the conflict. She peeked out from behind, seeing Sango and Inuyasha throw punches at one another. Sango was mainly on the defense, Inuyasha's newfound speed greatly outmatching her.

Shippo growled, climbing up onto the top of Sango's head, pulling a top out of his pocket.

"FOX MAGIC SMASHING TOP!" he yelled, yanking on a string around the top and let it fly into Inuyasha. It poofed into a cloud, emerging as a top at least ten times its original size.

Inuyasha gasped, not being able to react fast enough as the top spun into his face. Pushing him back, he screamed as it burned his skin.

Kagome cringed, only imagining what he was feeling. A soft glow nearby caught her attention, seeing the light from the sacred jewel shards peeking from behind the leaves of a bush.

Only she could see the jewel shards' light, so the others wouldn't know exactly where it landed. She circled around, making sure to stay out of Inuyasha's sight as much as she could. She dropped to her knees, crawling on her left forearm and right elbow, so as to prevent her wound from getting dirty. The bleeding slowed dramatically, the blood on her arm and hands drying up into a harder solid-liquid. Despite that, it still ached and burned when the wind touched it.

Inching closer to the jar, she circled the tree it was in front of, aimlessly reaching for it with her injured arm. Feeling it on the tip of her finger, she outstretched her hand to yank the bottle from the bush.

Kagome clutched it in her hand, peeking above the bush a bit to see where Sango and Inuyasha were. The two, and Shippo, were about 7 yards from her, still attacking one another. Shippo tossed another top at Inuyasha, who tore his claws through it with promiscuous ease. He squealed, crawling down behind Sango's shoulder again. He saw Kagome waving slightly, and holding up the retrieved jewel shards. Shippo's mouth opened, but he kept a gasp in to not alert Inuyasha of Kagome's whereabouts.

Kagome nodded, hiding again to make her escape back to the village. A weight was lifted off of her chest but another was added, being her concern for her friends, especially for Sango and Shippo. She couldn't do anything to assist them a fight, so the least she could do was prevent her... enemy from getting stronger.

She used another burst of energy to try and sprint back to Kaede's village. She stumbled over rocks and tree roots, pausing to look up at a particularly large one. Her eyes glazed over, sorrow filling them as she recognized it as the tree Inuyasha had once died on. She hoped, at one point, that he'd remember who freed him.

Sango huffed, Shippo's grip extremely tight on her shoulder. Inuyasha on the other hand, was not out of breath. He stepped forward, lunging at her again and swiped at her face. The demon slayer used his speed against him. She charged at him and slipped under his attack, curving to the left of him. Behind him, she raised her arm.

'Don't hurt Inuyasha too badly, okay?' Kagome's request played back in her mind.

Sango winced, closing her eyes as she cut down Inuyasha's back, cutting through his clothes and skin. Shippo covered his eyes.

Inuyasha's yelped and back arched, his whole body seizing up for a brief moment from the pain. Using her other arm she slashed his thigh lightly to not inflict permanent damage, but enough to immobilize him long enough for her and Shippo to escape. She fled the scene as fast as she could yanking her Hiraikotsu out of the tree and heading back.

She was rattled. She was amazed at how she fended him off, she felt lucky that she could return unharmed— at least this time.

Kagome saw the parting of the forest leading back to the village. Her breathing was hard and deep, almost sounding like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Sweat ran down her head and torso, sticking her clothes and hair to her skin. She felt so cold, her eyelids felt heavy as she trembled and her legs started to buckle underneath her. She slouched on a tree, clutching her chest with her uninjured arm as her chest heaved for air. Nauseous rolled in her stomach, occasionally gagging but forced it back down.

Her arm throbbed, the wound pleading for medical attention quickly. From the wound down, her arm was nearly entirely covered in her blood. Her skin underneath felt like it was on edge, the uncomfortable texture coating her arm made her want to claw the blood off.

"Kagome! Kagome!"

Kagome turned her head to the friendly voices. Shippo hopped off Sango's shoulder, running to Kagome's feet. Tears welled up in his eyes seeing the state she was in. Sango caught up, her eyebrows wrinkling in shock.

"I'm taking you to Lady Kaede," Sango affirmed.

She leaned over a bit, letting Kagome fall onto her shoulder. Kagome was beyond the point of speaking, only focusing on slowing down her breathing. Sango essentially dragged Kagome out of the forest, Shippo following behind the two anxiously. She glanced into Kagome's eyes occasionally as her breathing slowly reduced to a normal pace. She looked exhausted and sad, but there was no shred of anger towards Inuyasha and his attack.

Sango, on the other hand, was frustrated at him, though she knew her resentment was slightly unjustified. She almost wanted to blame everything on Inuyasha, she wanted to yell at him for hurting Kagome, and for not remembering who she was. She knew it wasn't his fault, but she couldn't help but be mad. Despite this, she was amazed at Kagome's patience and hope towards this situation.

She didn't look close to turning on Inuyasha any time soon.

_Do not pursue her anymore for now. Continue, and you will be killed._

"Naraku," Inuyasha growled.

_You've gotten too distracted with the demon slayer. You let Kagome escape._

Inuyasha's ears perked up, sniffing the air. He was right, the scent of Kagome's blood was significantly farther away.

_You must stop relying on your hands and your own personal strength. Learn to use your Tessaiga and the power of the Shikon Jewel._

Crap, he was right again. The Tessaiga remained nestled against his waist, Inuyasha had forgotten all about it. He hissed his teeth.

_Return to Kagura and Kohaku._

Inuyasha growled again, the vibrations of his anger rumbling through his body. He got off of his knee, a surge of pain spiking through his thigh. Ignoring it as much as he could, he continued to hop from tree branch to tree branch, his snowy white hair dragging behind him in the wind.

Kouga danced around Kagura's constant barrage of attacks, getting more and more frustrated the further he was from clocking her in the face.

Miroku returned to evading Kohaku's attacks, dodging and blocking the Kusarigama with his staff. He hoped he would not be forced back into a corner, he had no intention of hurting the young boy, but he wanted to find a way to keep him behind with them.

Kagura watched Kouga idly, sending out a few Dance of Blades to distract him from evading her tornadoes. He got caught in a few, getting tossed and bruised a bit, Kagura snickering every time.

_Kagura. Bring Kohaku and Inuyasha back._

She rolled her eyes, snapping her fan shut. Turning in Miroku and Kohaku's direction, she called for the young boy. He immediately ceased his attacks on Miroku, sprinting back towards Kagura. The tornadoes parted for him, letting him through without injury. His hair whipped against his face from the wind's harsh gusts. He stood next to her, becoming as still as a statue.

"Kagura!" Inuyasha yelled, sliding next to her once he emerged from the forest. His leg was hell to stand on, but he remained afoot regardless. "Hurry up and let's go back," he hissed at her.

She hissed her teeth, plucking a feather from her hairpiece for the trio to make their escape. Once in the air, her tornadoes dispersed, giving Kouga a chance to breathe. He did not let his moment of rest last long as he squatted and his own wind circled around his feet. Launching himself up at the escaping group, he tried to take one last swing of them before they really got away.

"Kouga, don't!" Miroku yelled, a bit too late.

Kagura and Inuyasha gasped, but before Kagura could open her fan again, Inuyasha's hand snapped to the hilt of his Tessaiga. Drawing it, it grew to an enormous dog fang and he swiped for the oncoming demon, narrowly missing him. The sound from Inuyasha cutting the air so swiftly left a ring in everyone's ears.

Kouga yelped, seeing his own life flash before his eyes briefly as he'd come just under the blade of the sword. He fell to the ground, taking a hard crash and a dust cloud surrounded him from the crash. Inuyasha and the others watched his descent as they got further and further away. Miroku rushed over, kneeling down by the wolf demon.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Kouga wheezed for a second, following it with a cough. "I'm fine, damn it. I'm a damn full demon."

Miroku sighed.

"Miroku!" Sango called, approaching him. "What... What happened? Where's Kohaku?"

Miroku did not make eye contact with her. "He got away again. They all did."

Sango hissed quietly, not surprised by the answer. She shook her head, Miroku finally looking up at her.

"Inuyasha," she started. "He almost killed Kagome." "What?"

"HE WHAT?!" Kouga screamed, snapping up. "Where the hell is she now?" "I left her with Kaede and Shippo."

Kouga sprinted towards the house without a word, blowing the two's hair and clothes around with his wind. They both just watched him leave and sighed.

"Wait, Sango. What exactly happened?" Miroku asked.

"When I was aiding the villagers, I'd seen Inuyasha leave the village and head through the forest. Something told me that if I didn't follow him, something horrible would happen, so I did. By the time I had reached the well, Kagome was there again and she had been injured. I saw the blood on his hands."

Miroku just shook his head in disgust. "Do you think Inuyasha drew Kagome back over here?" "No. To me, it seemed like she had been chased out. She was running away from him."

"I see."

The two arrived in silence to a house that was quite the opposite. The two peeked inside to see Shippo wailing on the floor in fear of Kagome being dead, Ginta and Hakkaku desperately holding back a screaming Kouga who demanded for Kagome to confirm to him that she wasn't dead, and a frustrated Kaede who was trying to assure them that she would be fine and tried to tend to her wounds.

"Hectic. As expected," Miroku sighed, stepping back outside.

Inuyasha observed the Tessaiga briefly before putting it back in its scabbard. It felt like an extra limb on him, swinging it around just felt like he was trying to chop someone easily. Naraku's incarnation stared daggers into Inuyasha with her flat red eyes.

"You," she said. "What happened back there? You're disgusting and bloody," she said, taking note of the blood that seeped into her feather, dying it with a patch of crimson.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Damn wenches giving me trouble. One of them caught me off guard. Doesn't matter though, these will probably be healed by the time we get back to the castle."

"So it's safe to assume you failed to steal those jewel shards from the priestess? Kohaku sat idly between the two.

"Shut up," he scoffed again, looking away. "I didn't get them now... but I know that won't be the case next time. I'll get those shards, no matter the cost."


	7. Chapter 7

The breeze of the night sky rolled across the trio's skin, the sound of the wind in their ears making for a peaceful ambiance to wind down from their previous fight.

Kohaku groaned, blinking a few times and shaking his head. He looked around, seeing that he and his other two comrades were up in the air, realizing what had happened as the light returned to his eyes. Inuyasha watched him and Kohaku back at him, sadness filling his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped once he noticed Kagura staring at him too.

"What're _you_ sulking about?" Inuyasha snapped at Kohaku.

"Nothing," he said quietly as he slumped a bit.

The half-demon rolled his eyes, huffing.

"Inuyasha," Kagura said suddenly, directing Inuyasha's attention to her.

"What?"

"Do you trust Naraku?"

He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "Who I trust is none of your damn business."

Kagura scoffed and looked away.

As the three flew above the ground, Inuyasha had turned around to face away from his companions. He sat with his arms folded, thinking about what Kagome had said before.

"_MY NAME IS KAGOME HIGURASHI AND I JUST HAPPEN TO BE THE ONE WHO UNSEALED YOU FROM THE TREE!"_

_That doesn't make any sense…_ he thought. _I ain't all that well versed in priestess magic, but I do know for a spell like the one that sealed me… only Kikyo should've been able to unseal me. But she even said that her name was 'Kagome', and Naraku called her that too._

He rapped his fingers against his sleeve, getting deeper into his thoughts. His white hair fluttered in the wind and occasionally slapped him in the face, the moonlight glistening off of it.

_Is Kagome a better priestess than Kikyo? No way. She couldn't even break through Naraku's barrier. _

His thoughts derailed.

_"Inuyasha…" _

That voice rolled through his mind faintly, like a passing whisper from a stranger. The comfort of the girl's voice confused him.

_"Sit."_

_That_ thought felt significantly louder, making him grip his sleeves a lot harder. He shook his head, opening his eyes to look down at the nenju that sat nicely on his chest.

_When did these get here? _

He grabbed the beads firmly, gripping them tightly in his hand. Then he pulled as hard as he could with the intention of tearing the beads off of him. They lit up and flashed, letting out numerous beeps that signaled for Inuyasha to stop. Even then he persisted, hoping that the beads would snap off given enough force. Inuyasha groaned then let go, shaking his arm from the strain of pulling on an unbreakable object so hard.

"Damn! And I thought this sacred jewel shard made me stronger."

He pulled on it again, this time with two hands but the beads did not break. They flashed and blared again, eliciting Kagura to yell at him to "shut those things up" to which he did with a scoff.

_They reacted when that Kagome told me to sit… Maybe if I can kill her then these damn things will fall off. No one can tell me to "sit" again,_ he thought a bit too loud, chuckling as he spoke in his head.

Kohaku sat with his Kusarigama on his lap, picking off shards of blood with his fingernail off of the blade. It was a fruitless task, but one that kept his attention and kept him from talking to Kagura.

For the remainder of the flight, Inuyasha fell asleep sitting up without his own knowledge. Kagura and Kohaku could hear him snoring the entire time.

Inuyasha's head bobbed, jerking up when Kagura whacked him on the head with her closed fan.

"Wake up already."

"Ow," he growled, rubbing his head.

"Get on your feet," Kagura said, folding her arms.

Inuyasha shot up to his feet, glaring at the incarnation. He looked around and saw that they were in yet another forest, dim light glowing through the trees as the sun rose.

"Where the hell are we?"

Kagura shrugged.

"What do you mean-?!" he interjected his sentence to repeat her shrug, only in a more exaggerated, mocking manner.

"I'm leaving you here."

"What?!"

"Naraku doesn't require your presence at the moment. Do as you please," she said, stepping onto her feather again. "Don't get yourselves killed."

"You _cannot_ just leave us!" Inuyasha yelled, shaking a fist to the sky as Kagura rose back up into it. He watched her leave without a second thought towards them. He hissed his teeth which turned into an aggravated growl. "That damn _wench!"_

"I'm sorry about this, Mr. Inuyasha," Kohaku piped up from behind him.

Inuyasha snapped around to meet the young boy who stared up at him.

"About what?"

"About you being stuck with me."

He scoffed, rubbing his head. "Don't say it like that. Made me think you were about to kill me…"

"My apologies."

"Anyways…" Inuyasha yawned and stretched with his arms above his head. "Let's find somewhere to crash before night falls again," he said before starting to make his way through the forest.

"Do you know where we're going?"

"Nah. But there's villages everywhere. We're bound to land in one if we just walk straight."

"I guess that makes sense…" Kohaku said, thinking about his statement. Before getting lost in thought a bit too long, he perked up and started to follow Inuyasha on his trail.

Kagome felt like a weight was on every inch of her body, sinking into every point of her. Her eyes felt weighed, groaning as she struggled to open them.

A far away voice seemed to blare in her ears. Someone was calling her name, yelling her name in fact.

Her surroundings got closer to her, the noises and voices she heard becoming louder in her head.

"KAGOME!"

She peeked her eyes open, shutting them again when the light from outside shot into them. Groaning, she scrunched up her face as she raised an arm to block the light. The hazy light that glowed through her translucent eyelids got darker as the shadow from her arm covered them. Her arm hurt- her everything hurt actually. Her arm trembled as she opened her eyes, trying to become aware of her surroundings.

Kagome noticed someone eagerly leaning over her and watching her intently. Kouga stared into her face, worry written all over his face.

"Kagome! You're alive!"

Kagome coughed, "Hey Kouga…"

Before she knew it, Kouga sat her up and swept her into a big, hard hug. She cried in pain, the sudden forceful contact hurting her already sore body. Kouga yelped at Kagome's distress, immediately pulling away with his arms up. At least she was sitting up now.

"My bad," he said.

Kagome laughed weakly, saying, "It's okay." She coughed again, using her left arm to cover her mouth even if the cough was extremely weak. She had only just realized that her hand was clenched, tight. Kagome had only just processed the sting of her nails digging into her palm.

Uncurling her hand, it revealed the tiny glass bottle that held her sacred jewel shards. Her eyes soften as she gazed at it. "Have I really been holding these all night?"

Kouga nodded affirmatively. "The old hag tried to get em outta your hand but then she said somethin' like 'It's better in the hands of its protector' or somethin' like that."

"Lady Kaede really said that about me?" Kagome smiled softly, looking up at Kouga.

"Yeah."

Her heart fluttered a bit. She felt proud, proud that Kaede bestowed that responsibility on her. She knew she could only do it because she was a reincarnation of Kikyo, but she felt honored nonetheless.

Kagome coughed again. "Geez, I really need some water."

"Need me to go and getcha some?"

She waved her hand at him. "No thanks, I just need to go back home."

She pressed down on her right arm, yelping as a surge of pain stabbed through it. Her elbow buckled underneath her as her upper body almost collapsed onto the ground. Kagome's head went fuzzy as she processed what that pain was.

_Oh yeah. Inuyasha sliced up my arm last night…_ She remembered the sight of him in close range, then seeing her blood all over his hands. It was an awful memory. She glanced at the bandages wrapped around it, stained lightly red.

"Kagome! Are you alright?!"

She nodded. Kouga's concern was appreciated, but deep in her heart, she'd wished Kouga's voice was Inuyasha's. Sitting up, she got her weight off of her bad arm as she looked down at her clothes. They were dirty and covered with grime, and the right sleeve was tattered.

"Um, if you don't mind… Could you carry me to the well? I need to go back home and change back into my regular clothes," she said, pulling on the ends of her pajama shirt to show Kouga she wasn't prepared to search for Inuyasha at the moment.

Kouga perked up, "OF COURSE! Want me to carry you in my arms?" he asked, holding his arms out eagerly.

"On your back would be more than enough…" she chuckled awkwardly.

He huffed and turned around, holding out his hands behind him for her to step on. Kagome shuffled, groaning lightly as she climbed on top of him. "Now, let me tell you where the well is," she started.

"Pfft. No need. I can follow your scent right back to it," Kouga bragged.

"Oh, alright. Well, just to be safe-"

Kouga bolted out the door, speeding outside of the village, Kagome yelping from the sudden jerk. Kagome noticed Sango and Miroku heading back in their direction, their faces lighting up when they saw her.

"Kagome!" they both yelled, smiles on their faces.

She gave them a smile back, waving at them with her bad arm. "Hey Sango, Miroku! I'll be back sooooooon!" she called out, using her hand to project her voice as she and Kouga sped by them. They waved her goodbye.

Kagome continued to looked behind her at her friends until they faded out of view, sighing solemnly.

"Kagome," Kouga said. "Why do you live in a well…?"

Kagome sputtered with laughter. "I don't live in a well, silly."

"You said you were going back home, and you needed to go to this well."

"Wh- I…" she sent a palm right into her forehead. "I forgot you don't know…"

She struggled to give a proper explanation to how the well linked her to her home, and how she's from 500 years in the future as Kouga struggled to understand her strange explanation.

"Weird," he said. "I guess it'd explain why you dress so weird."

He didn't sound like he entirely believed her, but he wasn't stopping her from going into the well so she thought it was all fine. Silence brewed between them as Kouga kept leading her around the forest of Inuyasha. 10, 15, 20 minutes passed but even with Kouga's enhanced speed, they did not arrive at the well.

"Kouga… Do you have _any _idea on where you're going?"

"Yeah! Yeah, trust me Kagome," he paused briefly and shook his head a bit after the first "yeah".

"Just let me tell you where it is."

Kohaku followed behind Inuyasha, who's pace was hard to keep up with. He was pissed at Kagura just leaving them behind. The jewel shard in his heart only amplified his frustration, his hair rising a few centimeters away from his body. He looked at his hand, still bathed in the dry blood of Kagome. His pulse hastened every time he looked at it.

The shard in his heart grew darker, calling for Inuyasha to listen to it, to satiate its desire to become purely tainted. With every beat of his heart, his head rattled as he found it harder to keep focus on what he was trying to do.

He halted, Kohaku freezing mid-step.

"What's wrong, Mr. Inuyasha?"

"Eh. Some stench."

"Like… a demon's smell?"

"No, humans. But they smell bad. Like they haven't had a damned bath in months."

"Are they bad?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"Sorry…" Kohaku said pitifully, shrinking into himself.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Anyways, I wanna see what their deals are. Stay behind me, if you want," he said.

Inuyasha didn't hesitate to keep walking straight ahead to the source of the gut wrenching stench. Kohaku peered up at him anxiously. The half demon almost wanted to wretch at the smell. They certainly weren't dead, but _god, _they smelled awful.

Silhouettes came into vision, Kohaku becoming warier.

"Great. It's a bunch of rotten smelling people," Inuyasha complained, pinching his nose.

A group of bandits came into close range of them, led by a tall man with hardly any hair and grimy looking skin. The only vaguely appealing thing about him was the rundown armor he dawned on his body, but even then it was hardly passable as anything. His ragtag crew hardly looked any better.

"Keheheheh, a demon! You'd oughta watch your tongue around me, or else it'll be mine," he said, his words slurred. To top it off, his teeth were corroded and many were missing.

"You are disgusting to look at," Inuyasha snapped.

He paused, then snapped back at Inuyasha. "Vile demon, I'll cut you to pieces and sell your pieces on the market," he said as he pointed his sword at the apathetic half demon.

"I doubt it."

The bandit growled, then looked back at his peers. "Let's kill this damned demon," he glanced over at the duo again, looking at Kohaku. "Let's take the kid and sell him off too."

Inuyasha's eyebrows furrowed, his heart beginning to pound furiously. Kohaku took a few steps back, gripping his Kusarigama in defense. He looked worried, unsure of whether to flee or to attack.

"Kohaku, just stay back," he said as he turned to look back at the boy. "I'll fight 'em o-"

Inuyasha's sentence was cut off from him choking on his own words, as a spear impaled itself in his shoulder. One of the lead bandit's lackeys made a move, grinning with another ugly smirk on his face. His pride was knocked off of his face when Inuyasha's fist smashed into his jaw, throwing him back into a tree. He yanked the intruding spear out of his shoulder, gripping it with two hands. Then he brought it down over his knee and snapped it in half, throwing away the two broken pieces as if they were nothing.

"You startled me there. I thought that you might actually pose some damage, but all you're leaving me with is a bruise," Inuyasha bragged, pointing at the spot he stabbed. It didn't even break through his robe.

The bandits gasped, the leader even taking a step back.

_Your Tessaiga. _

The voice from which this thought elicited sounded as if it were his own, but at the same time not so. It felt melded with Naraku's.

_Wield the Tessaiga. _

His hands gravitated to the hilt of the sword, but hovered around it. Two more lackeys charged at Inuyasha, raising their own weapons to attack.

He gripped his sword, a violent pulse of his heart rattling through his body. Time seemed to slow to him as the approaching enemies closed in. Pulling out his sword, light engulfed it as it grew from its tiny size to a much larger, but still light fang. His mind went into a haze as he swiped through his enemies, the cut so clean that his speed with his sword did not falter.

The armor guarding the men's chests cracked and broke as the sword cut through them, crimson blood jetting from in between the cracks.

Kohaku stared on in awe at Inuyasha's skills.

The half demon gasped as their blood splashed onto his face and clothes. From the darkest reaches of his mind, Inuyasha was pulled away from the grip on his own body.

Blood filled his eyes as his sclera shifted into that of a shade of a deep scarlet. His pupils morphed from a sharp amber to a harsh emerald with white irises. His grip on his sword tightened tenfold as his nails grew sharper, his knuckle turning white from his ironhard grip. He snarled as his fangs hung over his lip, gritting his teeth to the point of his jaw hurting. But Inuyasha couldn't feel it- he was long gone.

His eyes bored into the enemies in front of him, the pressure from his demon aura increasing with every heartbeat. Some of the lackeys whimpered, on the verge of turning tail and running away, but the leader held his guard.

Kohaku's breath hitched, his reversed footsteps leading him to hide behind a tree. He crouched, peeking from one side with one eye.

"Filthy vermin," the hollow demon growled, his voice darker and gravelier. He raised his sword, the blood that ran down it dripping on the ground. "I'll pick your skin off of your bones."

His instincts took over- he took a large stride at the enemies brought down the sword, saying flatly, "Wind Scar."

The blade slammed into the ground, 5 rays of light streaking from it across the dirt and into the bandits. Some tried to run, but the attack scaled up their bodies, cutting through them swiftly and reduced them to corpses. Their cries and screams cut short as their lives did too.

Dust cleared from the attack, the ground soaking up the fallen humans' blood. Inuyasha gazed the fallen bodies, unsatisfied with the damage he left. He raised his head and shoulders as he sniffed the air, growling after he quickly picked up the smell he seeked.

"One vile thing is still alive," his head snapped to turn around as his eyes met Kohaku's.

The boys eyes widened, his face going pale as the blood fled his cheeks. His mind began to race with options of what to do. He knew he couldn't attack, he'd be killed instantly. But he knew running wasn't an option either, Inuyasha could just catch up easily. Staying still would obviously serve no purpose either.

Inuyasha watched from a hole deep inside his own consciousness, held down by the destructive desires of the Shikon jewel shard. It felt as if everything was 10 feet away from him, his control completely out of his reach.

_Dammit!_ he said. _Why won't this kid run?!_

Kohaku hid behind the tree, choosing the option to stay rather than to attack or flee. He held his Kusarigama close to his chest, his breathing slowly become erratic.

_Why am I so scared? _

The blade of the Tessaiga cut directly over his head, chopping off some strands of hair. The swipe cut through several trees in front and around the boy, the severed parts all crashing into the ground. Kohaku rolled out of the way from one of the falling trees, stopping on his back. Inuyasha stood on the tree trunk of the tree the boy hid behind prior, staring down at him with an icy glare.

He flipped onto his front, kicking up dirt as he sprinted away from the demon. He put his Kusarigama in the sash wrapped around his waist.

Inuyasha grinned, his overgrown fangs shimmering. He gave chase, dashing in front of Kohaku as he raised the sword with one hand. The young demon slayer gasped but kept running, ducking down before Inuyasha swung at him. He jumped through the gap between Inuyasha's legs, bending his arms so he could roll off of them back onto his feet. Once his feet hit the ground he leapt up and grabbed a tree branch from an undamaged tree. He kicked his legs forward then swung them back. He swung them forward, letting go of the branch and let his momentum throw him onto another branch.

Kohaku landed firmly on it, leaping from one branch to another, taking glances to see Inuyasha gaining traction on him. Inuyasha jumped and swung at the boy, narrowly missing and cutting through trees.

Inuyasha's frustration with missing the boy became more apparent as his incessant growling got louder and angrier. He sped up, cutting down trees that Kohaku aimed for. His prediction was accurate as the falling tree Kohaku tried to land on threw off his balance. He slipped on the branch, crashing to the ground on his side. He winced looking up at the demon who came close to him, bloodstained sword in hand.

"Please, don't do this, Mr. Inuyasha…"

"Kouga! The well is right over there! KOUGA!" Kagome yelled, pointing through the forest.

"Stop yellin' at me!"

"I need to go home, Kouga!"

Kouga jumped out of the forest into a clearing, a well not too far off from them. Kagome sighed in relief at the sight of it. "Finally!"

The wolf demon carried his friend to the well, letting her crawl off of his back when they were close enough to it.

"So _this_ is how you get home?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothin', just expected a bit more," Kouga said, his fingers under his chin as he observed the well.

"Ah, well… it really isn't all that much," Kagome responded, climbing to sit on the ledge of the well. "I'll see you later, Kouga! Bye!" she pushed herself off the ledge, falling into the depths of the well below. A hazy blue light surrounded her as she jumped 500 years into the present. She landed on the ground softly on her feet.

"Kagome!"

She looked up to see her mother leaning over from the top of the well.

"Mom!"

"Kagome, perfect timing. I'd just come down to check to see if you'd come back."

"Mom, I'm gonna need a little bit of help coming up, do you have a ladder?"

"Give me just a second," she said, running to help her daughter.

After a bit of struggle Kagome's mother carefully pulled her out of the well, immediately noticing the bandages wrapped around her daughter's arm. She pulled on her arm, looking at it in concern.

"Kagome, what happened?"

"Yeah… I was going to explain…" she twirled her hair around one of her fingers. "It was Inuyasha… but it's not his fault."

Mama Higurashi's eyes softened, her eyebrows wrinkling. "Can I see?"

Kagome nodded, looking away. Her mother carefully unwrapped the bandages on Kagome's arm. Tears were brought to her eyes seeing the wound engraved into her daughter. It looked sore, and she couldn't look at it for too long.

"Come back to the house, I'll clean it for you again and replace your bandages."

"Okay," Kagome said quietly.

Her mother led her out of the shrine, holding her arm as they returned to their home.

"Hey sis- WAH! YOUR ARM! YOUR ARM!" Souta yelled upon seeing her sister return.

"Oh, be quiet Souta! It's nothing to worry about!"

"But-!"

"Go back to watching TV!"

He huffed and turned around.

"Hello there, Kagome," her grandfather said as he didn't look away from the television.

"Hi, Gramps," Kagome said.

"Come on, Kagome," her mother said, urging her to their bathroom.

Kagome sat on the toilet lid as her mother rummaged through the cupboard over the sink for medical stuff. She pulled out gauze, bandages, cotton balls and antiseptic, putting the gauze and bandage and sink for later. Kagome winced a bit as her mother cleaned the wound again, not watching her do it.

"Kagome, why did Inuyasha attack you? I thought you had such a good thing going."

"Someone made him."

"Made him?"

"Mmh," she nodded. "He's under someone's control, and I want to help him."

"I see… But, are you sure you want to go back?"

"Huh?" Kagome looked at her mom, almost offended.

"I mean, I just can't stand to let you get hurt. Wouldn't it be safer to stay home and not go back?"

Kagome sighed. "I know what you mean… but the thing is that- If I say there, Inuyasha will just find me again. I know you don't want me to get hurt, but if I'm around you, you could get hurt too. And I couldn't forgive myself if I let that happen!"

"Kagome…"

"I have to. I'll help you by keeping you out of harm's way, and I'll help Inuyasha by getting him back to normal."

Her mother took her turn to sigh as she re-wrapped her daughter's arm. "Okay, Kagome. I trust you."

"Thanks, mom…"

"But, just one thing. If you're really leaving again, please just stay the night with us before you go," her mom said, wiping away a tear that pricked at her eye.

Kagome paused. "Okay," she said finally, hugging her mom.


	8. Chapter 8

"Mr. Inuyasha…" Kohaku whimpered.

Inuyasha's crooked smile carved across his face, no sign of the person he used to be in his expression. He adjusted his hand's position on the Tessaiga, ready to stab the blade into anyone.

Kohaku gasped, curling into himself and guarding his face with his arms and turned his head to the side. He felt thick chunks of blood fall off of the blade onto his clothes, but his blood had yet to join the bandits'. Spreading his arms to see between them, he saw Inuyasha frozen above him. His voice croaked, the sword in his hand trembling. As he looked down on the boy, his eyes were filled with puzzlement. His clenched jaws struggled to part but let out a strained, "Get out of here."

Kohaku dropped his arms in bewilderment, but rolled away in time to miss Inuyasha implanting his Tessaiga in the dirt of the ground. The young boy scrambled backwards on his hands and feet, kicking up dust, only stopping when his back made contact with a tree.

Inuyasha's body was tensed up, struggling to remove himself from the Tessaiga. His heart continued to beat violently, waves of the sacred jewel shard's energy continuously flowing through him. He pulled himself off of the hilt of his sword, his body not wanting to comply. He let out a growl that turned into hissing between his teeth. His body felt like it started to creak as he began to take one step opposite of Kohaku. He took another, then another, and another until it was a jagged and forced pace away from the boy, forcing himself to keep his balance and keep himself away from his weapon.

The empty depths of Inuyasha's mind slowly began to feel as if it became tighter and closer to him, what he was seeing through his eyes came closer into view.

He tried to hold out his arms in front of him, as he slowly made his way over to a tree. He placed his hands on the rough bark, groaning in pain and frustration. Making sure he had a good grip, he pulled his head back and slammed it into the bark. The impact caused the dense tree to get a dent in it, wooden chips beginning to jut out of it. Inuyasha hissed his teeth, digging his forehead into the bark before pulling it back again. He slammed his head into it again, and again, and again. Wooden splinters flew and the tree leaves rustled with every impact. The more he slammed his head, the more control over what he felt and what he did spilled back into his body.

"Dammit. Dammit! _Dammit!"_

His slamming stopped, and Inuyasha's breathing was labored as the half demon finally returned to his own body. He felt like he was touching the tree with no effort, no longer forcing his body to do what he wanted. All of his muscles relaxed, the pain from his internal struggle settling in as his shoulders slumped and his arms fell beside his waist. The hair that kept itself raised above his body fell back onto him, resting itself on his shoulders and back. Inuyasha shook his head and blinked out the red and green in his eyes as his irises returned to a hazy amber.

Kohaku watched the incident, his concern towards Inuyasha keeping him from running away.

"Mr. Inuyasha…?"

Inuyasha huffed, standing up straight to turn around and look at the boy.

"My bad."

"Are you okay…?"

"Yeah."

"Ah… you're bleeding," Kohaku said, pointing out the blood leaking from the new split in his forehead. It was relatively small, but still enough to leave a mark. At least on humans.

Inuyasha shrugged.

"You're still coming with me to this village?"

"Yes! Of course," Kohaku said, getting to his feet again.

Inuyasha nodded, going back over to his Tessaiga and pulled it from the earth and returned it into its scabbard. Without looking back at the boy, he continued on his path and hoped that Kohaku would follow behind him.

_Why did I… slaughter all of those bandits like that? I didn't even mean to kill those first two… Just wanted to scare them off or something._

He scratched his neck as he thought, reminiscing over the awful feeling of losing control of his body. Inuyasha ran his hands up his face, feeling his skin and made sure that it was him who was in control of feeling this sensation. He ran a hand through his white hair, his nails getting caught on knots of it. He kept letting his fingers run through, a twinge of pain poking him as he accidentally pulled a couple of strands loose from his scalp. It was an uncomfortable sensation, but it grounded him knowing that he himself caused him to feel that and nothing else.

_It has to be this sacred jewel shard… I need it out._

He slipped his hand through the collars of his clothing and placed it above where his heart would be. His heartbeats were a lot faster than he remembered. His fingers curled, nails pressing up against his skin as if to pierce it- but he didn't do it. He contemplated the idea of taking out the shard from his heart but… it was in his heart. Would it really be worth tearing that out and then bleeding to death?

Inuyasha shook his head and pulled his hand out from his clothes. He couldn't do it, so he kept on walking.

His ears twitched and he began to focus on his surroundings. He could hear Kohaku walking behind him, but he sounded farther away. As expected, Inuyasha didn't expect him to be as trusting of him as before.

The sun setting doused the sky in a luxurious red and orange, the heat of the day quickly faded into a comfortable cool atmosphere. A woman with long black hair dressed in the garbs of a priestess entertained a group of children at her feet.

"Lady Kikyo! Lady Kikyo! Please, please, please play with us!" a young boy cried out, tugging on her bright red hakama.

"My apologies, young Hitachiin, but it's best you go back to your mother. She'll be worried about you. The rest of you should do the same. I must head back to my quarters," she said, looking down at the children with a small but warm smile on her lips.

The children whined and aww'ed, only leaving with a bit more urging of the priestess. She waved them goodnight as they all scrambled to get back home before the sun set for the night. The dirt and gravel crunched underneath her sandals as she returned to a small home the villagers left her. Her smile faded as uneasiness settled in her stomach.

_There are… two sacred jewel shards that are approaching… and one is tainted. _

Inuyasha sniffed the air around him, stopping his pace in his tracks.

"I smell something."

"Oh no… Is it another group of bandits?"

"No. No, it smells completely different. Like graveyard soil and bones… Ugh," Inuyasha knocked his head with a fist and scratched his head furiously.

"Mr. Inuyasha…?" Kohaku asked, taking a step back.

"I'm not losing it again, cool it. Something is just eating at my brain from the inside out. I've gotta know what this smell is coming from," Inuyasha said, feeling a dull spot in his memories that he tried to reach for. It felt too far away. He would have to wait again.

The smell was faint, but beneath it was something more familiar. His eyebrows furrowed with the slightest bit of curiosity towards it, like it drew him to it.

A soft glow permeated the darkness in between the trees ahead of them, something emerging from them. They cascaded above the two boys, and took the shape of long, pale, insect-like eels. They moved like blankets gliding through the air, the light they emitted drawing Inuyasha and Kohaku's eyes to them.

"Soul collectors?" Inuyasha asked.

"Those belong to that priestess," Kohaku said.

Inuyasha snapped around to look at the boy, exclaiming, "Priestess?!"

Kohaku recoiled from the shout, but loosened up. "Yes… I overheard from Naraku that her name was 'Kikyo'."

Inuyasha's heart fell, and sucked in a long and deep breath. He looked in the direction the soul collectors came from, and without a word he sprinted towards the source.

"Wait! Mr. Inuyasha, wait for me!" Kohaku's voice quickly faded from the splitting distance between them.

The soul collectors had guided him to her before. They'd guide him again.

Kikyo readied her bow and arrow, preparing herself to aim at whatever was approaching her with increasing speed. She leaned against a wall and stared at the doorway, its entrance obscured by a long and thick cloth to block visibility from both inside and out.

Inuyasha's feet planted harshly on the ground in front of the lonesome house. The smell was obviously coming from in there, it enveloped him and locked itself in his clothes and his hair. He was met face to face with the cloth obscuring the door and inside, his sensitive hearing picked up the sound of a bow's string being pulled back. The possibility of Kikyo being inside of this house, in his grasp again, made him wary.

The last memory that was clear to him was seeing her cold eyes carving their way into his soul as Kikyo sentenced him into an eternal slumber. And then he woke up.

He took a breath and stepped forward, stopping just short of the entrance when an arrow flew past his face, the light trailing behind it fading into the distance. Despite the close call, he wasn't scared even if he heard another arrow being drawn.

Inuyasha's lips quivered as he pushed aside the curtain and stepped inside the house, the pressure from the atmosphere outside dissipating into nothing. He was met with a bow and arrow pointing directly at him, the same cold eyes boring into him as when he had first died.

"Kikyo," he said, his tone harsh.

She did not respond at first, but she lowered her bow slightly and lessened the stress on the bow string.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing here?" she asked sharply, seeing the blood doused on his face and clothing.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Inuyasha wanted to come closer to her, to figure out why she smelled like that.

"Don't move. Tell me why you have a jewel fragment."

He wasn't surprised that she knew. "I got it from someone."

"Tell me who."

Inuyasha had a feeling she wouldn't like his answer. He prepared himself mentally for the backlashlash as he uttered the name, "Naraku".

The stress on the drawstring increased as Kikyo focused on her target.

"To think you would sink so low to ally yourself with your own enemy for a slice of power… I'm disgusted. Why do you affiliate with him?" Kikyo snapped.

_My own enemy?_

"Answer me!"

"Kikyo, what do you know about Naraku?"

She squinted at him, her cold stare dampening a bit. "Don't play the fool, Inuyasha. Now answer my question."

"Look, I've got no idea what the hell _you _mean by my 'enemy'. He's more trustworthy than you ever could be; he promised me a sacred jewel shard and I got it," Inuyasha growled, reminiscing over his last moments before being sealed on that tree. "...and when you had promised me the entire jewel- look where that got me."

Kikyo hissed under her breath.

"You betrayed me, Kikyo."

"Kagome."

Inuyasha blinked at the girl's name leaving Kikyo's mouth. "Huh?"

"Kagome. Does the name mean anything to you?"

Inuyasha's teeth gritted, the name "Kagome" scratching at places in his memory that didn't exist. "No- hardly."

"So you've forgotten," she said, lowering her bow and arrow. "Your memories have obviously been erased, and more than likely it's from Naraku. Either that, or you're just an impressive actor."

"I ain't acting about anything."

She shook her head and closed her eyes. "Even then, to think you would fall prey to his shallow words… I cannot help but feel disappointed."

"Kikyo, you need to answer some of my questions now," Inuyasha said.

"Ask them with haste, once you're done, leave at once."

"Leave?" Her telling him to get out struck a nerve in his heart, taking offense to it more than he should have.

"Your presence will be a burden in this village. Both yours and the other jewel shard holder. It's not as if they would be kind to a demon covered in the blood of his fallen enemies."

Inuyasha slapped a hand onto his cheek realizing the dried blood of the bandits remained on his face, congealed and hard. He tried to pick some of it off before focusing on the conversation again.

"Kikyo, the other person who had the shard was a kid, at least I'm pretty sure he has a shard. The only reason this blood is on me is because I was protecting him," Inuyasha responded.

Except the blood stuck to his hand did not belong to those enemies.

"A child?" she asked, focused on that jewel shard slowly coming closer to them. "Tell me, were you protecting the child, or the jewel they possess?"

"It's my turn to ask questions, Kikyo."

Kikyo glared at him, silencing herself to listen.

"Since you didn't answer me earlier, what do you know of Naraku?"

"Naraku… Inuyasha, you should not ally with him. He in turn was the one who had gotten us both killed."

"...What? Kikyo, are you dead?"

"Not long after I had bound you to that tree, I succumbed to my own injuries. Inuyasha, much has happened since you were unsealed."

"Is that why you smell like that?"

Kikyo nodded. "My grave was disturbed, and I am now sentenced to an eternity of roaming this land. At least until my supply of souls runs out, or until this vessel crumbles to pieces."

"Those soul collectors really must be yours, then."

"They are. Have you anymore questions? If not, then go."

"I've got one more question. What do you know about Kagome? And what is she to me?"

"Kagome and I are one in the same. She is my reincarnated soul. What she is to you is none of my business. I cannot walk you through this struggle. Your memories are yours, and you must leave this responsibility to yourself to restore them. "

Kikyo dropping the fact that Kagome and her shared the same soul without any regard towards how he might react hit him like a boulder rolling down a cliff. His head spun as he processed the sudden statement.

"That was your last question. Leave," Kikyo said, gesturing her head back at the entrance Inuyasha came through.

"Mr. Inuyasha?" a voice called from outside.

Inuyasha slipped over to the obscured entrance with ease, brushing the curtain aside to peek his head out. Kohaku panted, his jog slowing as he rested his hands on his knees to take in heavy breaths.

"Yo."

Kohaku perked up, his face lighting up with relief upon knowing that he had finally caught up. "You finally found the village!"

"Mm," Inuyasha turned back to look at Kikyo who continued to glare at him. "Kikyo, let us stay for tonight. At least just let the kid stay."

Kikyo's eyes narrowed in agitation but she just closed her eyes and turned away. "Do as you please, but once you wake up in the morning, don't let the villagers see you."

Inuyasha's eyes softened, gazing at Kikyo before blinking and having his eyes travel back to Kohaku, who was still hunched over as he tried to recover from the excruciating sprint. "Come on, Kohaku."

The young boy wobbled inside, Inuyasha holding up the curtain for him as he entered the tiny house. He stared up at the priestess in awe as he felt her spiritual energy purifying any darkness that tainted the room, as if she were her own source of energy. Being in her presence made him nervous from hearing Naraku's animosity towards her in the past. He did not share those feelings, but he felt that being near her might prove to be dangerous.

Inuyasha yawned. "Are we supposed to sleep right here?"

"I do not care. But know that I will be keeping watch over you throughout the night."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and sauntered over to the farthest part of the room and sat in a corner, plopping on the ground with his arms folded. Kohaku leaned against a wall for support but slowly fell to his knees, and gently lay himself on the ground. Within a few seconds, his body which trembled with exhaustion now only twitched in his sleep.

_Damn, he falls asleep fast. _Inuyasha thought to himself.

Kikyo sat against the furthest wall across from Inuyasha, making sure that he and Kohaku would remain in her sight for the entire night. Inuyasha occasionally shot wary glances at the priestess who stared back at him. He would huff and turn his head away to look at Kohaku who was sprawled on the floor. Needless to say, he slept like a rock.

It felt like Inuyasha had been awake, but his mind had settled down. He didn't realize how dark it was before noticing that his eyes felt glued shut. He felt himself drooping over but couldn't bring himself to sit up straight again. The creaking of floorboards swirled through his head, his ears twinging at the muffled sound. His surroundings came clearing to his hearing as he heard footsteps approaching him.

They paused and knelt in front of him, Inuyasha feeling a mellow pressure surrounding him. A cold hand slipped in his robe, goosebumps immediately running up all over his skin and waking him up. He snapped up to look at the person who dare to violate him in his sleep, the perpetrator pulling their hand back. Inuyasha's sharp golden eyes locked with Kikyo's, whose sorrowful black eyes reflected the half demon's. Inuyasha tensed up, but let his muscles relax upon feeling that she meant no harm.

Soft blue lights floated around her, emitter by her soul collectors that had returned to her. They watched over her like guardians, cradling the souls of numerous dead women in their limbs.

"Inuyasha, your shard is tainted," she said as she let her hands get close to his chest again. "You mustn't let it consume you."

Inuyasha stared at her as she focused on the jewel fragment imbued in his heart. Kikyo pulled aside the robe and garment underneath to see Inuyasha's bare skin. It was still riddled with goosebumps from Kikyo's cold touch. Her temperature was not that of an average human, yet the spiritual energy she began to pour into him balanced it out. The sensation of a weight being lifted off of him flooded through his body, the harsh expression that stayed locked on his face melted away.

Light glowed between them, from both the Shikon jewel fragment and from Kikyo's resounding energy. Both of their hairs hovered above their clothes, wisping around as if they were being cradled in the wind.

It was the same as when Kagome had shot him with her arrow, the evil influence from the Shikon jewel shard being forced out temporarily. The thick outline on Inuyasha's eyelashes lessened, the soft but affirmative gaze that was written in Inuyasha's eyes returned to him. His mind felt clear, and the image of him next to a girl enveloped him with the feeling of comfort and acceptance. He could remember the feeling of her hand clasped with his, their grip on one another reflecting the trust between the two.

Inuyasha's face flushed in a light red as Kikyo did not move her hand. His heart beat against her palm, the pulsing no longer hurting as much from the jewel shard.

"Your pulse feels different."

He gulped. Hard.

"Kikyo. It feels like it's only been a few days since I woke up from the seal. Even so, I still missed you," Inuyasha said looking away from her, his eyes flickering around the room.

"You've been awake for a while," Kikyo said, removing her hand.

Inuyasha's shard glowed with a pure light, almost as if it was no longer in him. He grabbed the priestess' hand, reluctant for her to go so soon. Kikyo looked down at her hand in his, then up at Inuyasha's face.

His heart felt like it was beating in his throat as he stared at her in awe. A faint blush painted Kikyo's cheeks as the two refused to break eye contact. He sighed and they closed their eyes, leaning into one another. Kikyo's hand slipped from Inuyasha's, leading both of hers to his jawline. He moved his hands to her waist and pulled her closer to him. Their lips pressed against one another's, the half-demon and undead priestess taking their time to run their fingers through each other's hair.

Inuyasha felt… content. He felt happy. Relieved. The two were tense earlier, but like how times where before they had both died, they enjoyed being alone near one another. Well, almost alone.

Lighter footsteps filtered in Inuyasha's ears. He blinked open his eyes and pulled away from Kikyo to take a deep breath when he saw a flash of a blade from behind Kikyo. He sucked in a harsh breath, almost choking on it and shot up to his feet. He tightly grabbed Kohaku's wrist, no regards to holding back his strength. The young boy stared through him, his eyelids drooping.

The boy held his Kusarigama in his hand, his grip on it not firm at all.

"How interesting it is that you chose to spare this boy's life after threatening the woman you love," he crooned.

Inuyasha's hold on Kohaku's wrist loosened, his head cocking to the side. The corners of Kohaku's mouth cracked into a slight but unnerving smile, a smile that was shared with Naraku.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha growled.

"Be careful of which side you choose to take, Inuyasha," he said, chuckling at the end of his sentence with his shoulders bouncing lightly.

When his laughter died, Kohaku's body fell limp onto Inuyasha. The Kusarigama slipped out of the boy's hand, its blade impaling itself in the wooden floorboards as its attached chain pooled on the ground next to it. Inuyasha fumbled to let go of his wrist and catch his body, the dead weight pushing him back a little. Kohaku's eyes shut, his breathing heavy and relaxed.

"He's asleep…?"

"It's Naraku. His malice towards me runs deep," Kikyo said, a balled up fist pressed against her chest.

"Why?"

"I will not risk yours or that boy's safety by explaining. Within time, you will learn. But it cannot be from me," she said, getting up to her feet and heading for the exit of the tiny house. Her soul collectors stayed by her side, one wrapping around her like a scarf.

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere in particular. But do not forget, once you and your comrade wake up in the morning, you must leave. Immediately," and without a word Kikyo left, her soul collectors trailing behind her.

Inuyasha watched dismay, his heart sinking down to his stomach as he held the young boy in his arms. He clenched his teeth, his eyes furrowing with frustration. Before letting his anger get to his head, he took a deep breath to sigh and shake his head. He rested Kohaku down on the floor near him and he rolled over onto his side, his breathing undisturbed by the prior conflict.

The half demon watched over Kohaku for what seemed like hours to make sure that Naraku did not return to the boy's body. He did not see Kikyo return. Inuyasha watched as the cold darkness of the room shifted into that of a warm one as the sun rose past the blocked out windows and door. He remained still and silent, waiting for Kohaku to wake up. Within time, Kohaku's shifting around in his sleep got more frequent, groaning in discomfort. He blinked open his eyes to see Inuyasha staring down at him, his eyes widening in shock- but he didn't scream at the sight. He let out a deep breath to replace the option to scream as he realized he wasn't in immediate danger.

Inuyasha's expression did not change, looking at the boy with flat eyes.

Kohaku rubbed his eyes and yawned, pressing on his hands to use as a support so he could sit up.

"Hello, Mr. Inuyasha."

_Definitely Kohaku. He only refers to me as "Mr."_

Inuyasha stared blankly into Kohaku's eyes, taking in every detail about it so that he wouldn't forget. The relieved and calm expression in them did not compare to the flat, lifeless, and empty eyes he saw as he tried to attack Kikyo. Kohaku's head cocked to the side, growing wary of Inuyasha's silence.

Inuyasha blinked to snap himself out of his haze.

"Let's go, Kohaku."


	9. Chapter 9

Souta laid sprawled out on his sister's lap, one leg thrown over her shoulder. He was practically upside down on her lap as Kagome sat next to their living room table. Her eyelids sagged as she wanted to get up but her brother nagging her to spend time with him told her otherwise.

"Kagome. Look," he said, pointing at the television screen as he pointed at a peculiar cartoon villain on the screen. The light lit up the dark room they sat in, burning their eyes the more they stared into the screen. The monster Souta pointed out reminded Kagome of the incarnation that destroyed Inuyasha's memories- an uneasy feeling setting in her stomach as she watched it. "Kagome, it's you."

She shot a glare at her brother and blew a raspberry loaded with spit at him. He screamed and rolled off of her onto the floor. He wiped the spit off of his face and tried to blow a harder raspberry at her in retaliation. Kagome stuck out her tongue and pushed him away with her foot, her younger brother latching onto her leg.

"Alright—" she started as a yawn interjected her sentence, Kagome reaching a hand to cover her mouth. "Get off, Souta, I gotta sleep…" Kagome said, trying to shake her brother off her leg.

"But! But! But! You said-!"

"I know I said! But it's—" she looked around to find a clock, but couldn't see anything as her eyes had trouble adjusting to the darkness of their living room. "It's got to be 1 in the morning now, and I want to sleep."

"But I wanna keep watching!"

"Souta, it's the weekend. You literally have all of the episodes on tape, just watch them later!"

"But I'll diiiie if I don't keep watching."

"And I'll DIIIIIIE if I don't get some sleep," Kagome mocked. "I'm leaving tomorrow- or well, later today anyways," she stood up, her brother still attached to her leg.

She raised her free leg and tried to nudge Souta off of her. He reluctantly let go of his sister and got up to his feet, searching around for the remote to turn off the television. Kagome snatched up the remote from the surface of the coffee table, slapping her brother lightly on the head with the buttons side.

"Ow."

She turned off the television mid-fight scene, Souta whining quietly in disappointment.

"Night, Souta," Kagome said as she placed the remote back down, heading upstairs. She observed the damage left by Inuyasha as he chased her down the stairs the night before. Claw marks were engraved into the wall, seeing the jagged marks leaving scars in her family home. She scratched her bandaged arm, the gauze wrapped around her wound made her itchy. Souta followed her on practically on her heels, batting at the hems at the bottom of Kagome's pajama pant legs.

"Quit."

Souta huffed as Kagome reached the top of the stairs and headed into her room, the lights off. She rested a hand on the foot of her bed and crawled onto it. She was relieved that she didn't have to worry about seeing a bright overhead light shining in her room. Kagome already wanted to sleep and bright light hitting her eyes more than likely would've gotten her more energized— something she absolutely didn't want.

The cool breeze that entered her room through her broken window was comfortable in contrast to the hot days previously. She snuggled with her pillow and let the pure darkness of her room embrace her, pulling up some sheets over her body. The girl sighed, trying to relax so she could sleep. Souta keeping her up all night ruined her plans to prepare to head back to the feudal era; now she'd need to rush it all in the morning.

Kagome couldn't help but worry about the well being of her friends, and she couldn't help but worry about Inuyasha.

_I really have to stop thinking about Inuyasha so much… There's more to me than him. But I can't help but worry. This __**has**__ to be what Sango feels like all the time when it comes to Kohaku. This just feels so awful. I wish I could've prevented this. I hope he's okay._

She didn't realize her eyes were wide open as this monologue raced through her mind. Letting out a huge groan, she shifted around on her bed, laying on her side and facing the wall as she forced herself to stop thinking so profusely. With her eyes closed, she let her consciousness slip so her body could rest.

She was welcomed by a vast void, feeling as if the large space presented around her was pressed up close onto her skin. Had she chosen to focus on this feeling, Kagome would've grown uncomfortable. Instead, her focus was on her perspective. It felt as if she was viewing herself from a camera far away, but could still see out of her own eyes as to what was in front of her.

Inuyasha.

She wasn't sure when he got there, but it felt like he was standing across from her for quite a while. He looked so far away, but Kagome knew he was standing much closer to her than what she saw.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said.

He began to speak, the only sounds processing for Kagome were garbled and muffled words, as if he were trying to speak through a wall. She couldn't hear what he was saying, though she knew he was. It was all she could see. The sight of his mouth running felt close, and took up all the space in her head. Despite not being able to hear him, it felt loud, and Kagome just wanted to cover her ears and stop listening.

"Inuyasha, why did you have to leave us?" Kagome yelled. She wasn't sure when she said it, but the loud question rumbled through her head suddenly.

He said something else, and Kagome couldn't hear. She saw his mouth flash for a brief moment, and she knew what he said wasn't too long.

"Sorry, Kagome." He looked farther away, but his voice sounded louder, like he was close to Kagome but said it in a low voice.

Cold, harsh hands gripped her by her shoulders, forcing her to let out a scream in response. Something pulled her out and her eyes shot open, screaming and flailing until she realized she was awake again. She panted, gripping her sheets that she had unconsciously wrapped herself in overnight. Her eyes frantically darted around the room, taking in her surroundings and realizing that she was in fact— safe.

The door to her room opened up slowly, Souta peeking inside at her.

"Are you okay?"

Kagome took a bit to reduce her breath into that of a slower and steadier pace, before taking a hard swallow.

"Just a nightmare is all," she said.

Souta rushed in and belly flopped onto his sister's bed, looking up at her. "Nightmare? What about?"

"Uh…" Untangling herself from her sheets, Kagome scratched at her head as she tried to recall. "I don't remember! And it felt like such a short one too!"

Souta whined. "You forgot already?"

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"That reminds me of a dream I had. I was driving in this invisible car and it turned into a limo when I got to school. And when I got there I threw a big party!"

Kagome nodded, a soft smile on her face as she listened to her brother ramble. "Souta, what time is it?"

"Ummm. 12 in the afternoon.

"12?! I thought I would've woken up sooner!" she yelled, hopping out of her bed and speeding out of her room.

"Mom has breakfast ready for you!" Souta called after her.

Kagome sped down the stairs, making sure she wouldn't trip on her descent. She hissed every step going, "Ow, ow, ow," as she completely forgot how sore her entire body was from sprinting for at least 10 minutes straight. She slipped at the foot of the stairs but caught herself from enduring a painful fall.

"Good afternoon, Kagome. I was almost going to wake you!" Mama Higurashi said, washing some dishes in the kitchen.

"I wish you did, I thought I would've been gone by now!"

"Aw, I'm sorry. I'll make sure next time. If you look on the table I have some breakfast set out for you."

"Thanks, mom!" Kagome said, rushing over to the plate of toast and boiled eggs laid on a plate. She picked up a salt shaker and shook it on the egg, then shoved the whole thing in her mouth.

"Kagome, you're going to make yourself nauseous if you eat that fast."

"Shory-" she swallowed before continuing her sentence. "Sorry, mom! I'm rushing."

"Take your time. I have food prepared for you in the fridge."

Kagome stuffed the cold piece of toast into her mouth and directed her attention to the fridge. She shuffled around the table her food was set on to reach towards the refrigerator's handle. Gripping it, she opened the door and was greeted by cold air and bento boxes filling the entire fridge.

Kagome's cat, Buyo, lazily made his way next to Kagome's ankles and quietly observed the girl preparing before flopping onto his fat side.

"Thanks, mom," Kagome said, enamored by the amount of food her mother is able to cook in such a short amount of time.

"It's no problem. In some of the boxes, there's some perishables so you'd ought to eat those soon. Unless you want to carry a number of ice packs to keep it cool."

"Uuum, I'll try some ice packs," Kagome pulled some bento boxes out of the fridge and stacked them on the table, counting them up.

"Seven, eight, nine, ten…" her voice trailed as she counted up all the boxes. When she finished, she clapped her hands together happily and said, "I think this'll be enough for all of us for a couple of days! Hopefully we meet some nice villagers to offer us some food."

Kagome's mother turned off the faucet at the sink and dried off her hands with a nearby towel. "Kagome, let me change your bandages again."

Kagome looked at her mom and nodded silently, a wave of regret and sadness flushing over her. Her mom gestured for her to follow her to the bathroom again, and Kagome did follow her lead. The young girl scratched at the bandages, the more she focused on the wound's existence, the more it started to ache. The more it ached, the more her heart wrenched thinking about Inuyasha's face as he tore into her. A weight began to press down on her soul.

She shook her head before she got too lost in thought, plopping down on the lid of the toilet seat as she entered the bathroom.

The material used to fix up Kagome's wound from last night had remained on the sinks ledge, Mama Higurashi setting aside the cotton balls and antiseptic. Her mother first unwrapped the wound and discarded the bandages, seeing that it no longer looked as sore. Repeating the process of cleaning and re-wrapping it, Kagome just did her best to not watch her mother do it. Her leg bounced idly as she stared into a wall.

"Kagome," her mother started, bringing Kagome back into reality. "Can you move your fingers well?"

"My fingers? Why?"

"I'm just hoping there's no nerve damage or anything similar. Try and move them."

She twitched her fingers and curled them into a fist. It felt a little bit awkward, a little hard to move, but her arm functioned as normal. Mama Higurashi sighed in relief. Kagome just kept flexing her fingers to herself.

"Kagome, take this with you. I don't know if your friends will need it, but you will. Don't forget to address your wounds if they ever open up," she said, dumping the first aid equipment into Kagome's arms.

"Oh, alright. Thank you."

"Hey sis, do you really need all those bento boxes in the kitchen?" Souta asked, peeking in.

"Of course I need them! Get outta here!"

Souta blew a raspberry before running out of the bathroom's entrance.

"Kagome."

The young girl looked at her mother, who stared on at her with soft and concerned eyes.

"Please keep yourself safe over there."

Kagome blinked a few times before saying, "Of course I will!"

Her mother smiled, and pulled her daughter in for a hug. Kagome seemed to melt in her hold, truly feeling relaxed for the first time in a while. Her mother pulled away, her hands on Kagome's shoulders. She gave her a peck on the forehead and said, "If you ever need to come home, don't be afraid to."

Kagome nodded, taking the supplies and heading out of the bathroom. She placed everything on the table and observed the bento boxes beside it. She looked at the lone egg she had yet to eat and picked it up, salted, then quickly ate it whole. She swallowed hard, realizing that she should've been more patient with her food.

The girl raced back upstairs, looking in the mirror at her pajamas. Her old ones were dirty, and she had them strewn over the back of her chair. She had them replaced with a new purple top and bottoms with floral prints on it. Her school outfit was folded neatly on her desk, ready for her to wear. She shuffled off her pajamas to replace them with her outside wear. Her long white sleeves hid her bandages, but she could still feel them affixed on her skin. But as they always say: out of sight out of mind.

Kagome saw the tiny bottle of sacred jewel shards lying on her desk, the energy released from it letting her know where it was. She grabbed it and stuffed it into her shirt, having it closer to her heart. Kagome stared at herself in her mirror, just observing how she looked. Then she did some cute poses and flaunted her school outfit to herself.

"Kagome."

The voice from behind her made her jump, her eyes jumping at the door with her body turning around to follow. It was Souta again, which wasn't surprising to her at all.

"What?"

"You do have other outfits, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you wear anything else then? Why do ya keep going back there in your school uniform?"

Kagome couldn't answer. She scratched her head and thought about it, shrugging off the question.

Stretching her arms, the pain from her sore muscles set in, her upper body starting to burn when she relaxed. She quickly grabbed a change of undergarments and tossed them into a random part of her big yellow bag and groaned as she leaned over to pick it up from beside her bed, and began to head back downstairs with her brother.

Back in the kitchen, she stacked all of the bento boxes in her bag, the food already taking up tons of space. Kagome pulled out two dozen water bottles filled with cold water from the fridge for her trip and shoved them in the bag. Opening up the freezer, the refreshing cold air hit her face as she pulled out a few ice packs and tried to stuff them around all the bento boxes.

Kagome zipped up the section of her bag filled with food, struggling to get it closed. She couldn't be bothered to think about carrying textbooks with her. She observed her bags pockets, opening and stuffing her pair of pajamas into a random one, doing the same with the first aid equipment in another pouch.

"I think… I'm ready to go."

Souta whined. Kagome smiled at him, and grabbed him to hug him as tight as she could. Her mother joined as well— seemingly from nowhere, crouching down and hugging her two children. Kagome wanted this to last a bit longer, so she let it. She seemed to melt more in the comfort of her family's arms, nuzzling on the top of Souta's head.

A few minutes passed, the silence breaking when Kagome said with a slight chuckle, "Alright, we can let go now."

Simultaneously, the two pulled away from her and Kagome got to her feet, grabbing a strap from her bag. She grunted as her sore arm tried to lift it off the ground, but she managed to sling it over a shoulder. Slipping her right arm through the other strap, she held them both and looked at her mother and brother.

Mama Higurashi looked worried, but her concern could never triumph over her daughter's resolve to free Inuyasha.

"I'll see you off, Kagome," she said.

"Me too!" Souta said, his voice trembling a little as he rubbed an eye.

Kagome nodded, making her way to the door. She slipped on her shoes by the entrance, digging her finger into her heel to make sure they were on properly. Souta stepped into his tiny shoes, not bothering to put his heels in. Her mother slipped on some slippers. Kagome led her two family members to the well, her pace a bit sluggish from the weight of her bag and her sore muscles. Arriving at the little wooden shack that housed the Bone Eater's well, Kagome slid open the door and stepped down every short step as she looked around and remembered the other night's events.

She looked over the hole of the gaping well, the bottom of it in her sight. She looked back at Souta and her mother to send them a heartfelt smile saying, _"I promise I'll be okay!"_

"Bye, sweetie," her mother said waving.

"Bye, sis."

Kagome perched on the ledge of the well with her knees, then let herself fall in. She yelped at first, the weight on her back making her fall a lot harder than she expected. Though as she got closer to the ground, the impact did not come as she was surrounded by a hazy blue light. The rest of the quick trip was calm, as she was cradled back into the feudal era.

She floated to the ground of the other side, her front facing up to the sky as her body was rested on her backpack. The sun from outside peered into well, its light hitting her in her eyes. A head peeked from above who suddenly hollered her name.

"KAGOME!"

Kagome waved. "A little help?"

The figure nodded ecstatically and hopped into the well to awkwardly scale down it so as to not fall on Kagome. When he was close enough to the ground he hopped onto his feet next to the girl, his tail wagging excitedly upon seeing her safe and sound. She sat up and let her arms loose of the bag's straps.

A hand was offered to her to which she accepted, being pulled up onto her feet gently.

"'Sup, Kagome," Kouga said, clasping Kagome's hand with both of his.

"Kouga, how long have you been here?"

"Since ya left."

"Have you eaten anything…?"

"Nah. I don't get as hungry as you humans, " he said, his stomach growling.

"Your body seems to say otherwise. Want some of my food?"

"You got stuff on ya?"

"Mhm! It's all in my bag. Can you bring it up for me?"

"You got it," he immediately grabbed the bag in his arms and leaped up and out of the well.

"Don't be too rough with it!"

"Psssh- what d'ya take me for? Some brute?"

Kagome laughed a bit. _I mean yeah, looking back on your past interactions with Inuyasha… _

Kouga put the bag on the ground, making sure to not jostle it around a lot. "Damn, this thing is cold! And… kinda wet?"

"I've got ice packs in there, sorry."

"Ice WHATS?" he yelled down the well.

"Ice packs! I'll explain later. Please help me out!" Kagome yelled, waving her arms.

The wolf demon hopped back in the well and scooped up Kagome into his arms while he crouched from the landing. She was caught off guard and dug her nails into his shoulders as he leapt with her out of the well. The breeze from outside hit her face, sun illuminating and warming her skin. Kouga landed firmly on the ground beside her bag, placing Kagome on the ground smugly. Her hair flopped onto her face from the jump and she brushed it out of her face, rubbing down on her hair in an attempt to fix it.

"Thanks, Kouga!"

"No prob!" he said, giving her a thumbs up with a wide smile. "Want me to carry ya back to the village?"

"Ahaha, no thanks! I'd rather walk, I think I've got the strength now."

Kouga huffed, folding his arms as he began to walk beside his friend with his tail still wagging. The two headed back through the forest of Inuyasha, Kagome looking around at every tree was near her, hoping they'd pass by the tree Inuyasha was freed from again. Being in the feudal era felt so peaceful, the hustle and bustle of the city surrounding her home was replaced with the hum of nature and peaceful villagers. She enjoyed it, and the ability to shift between the two times were always appreciated.

They'd obviously gone through a different route through the forest, they didn't get there as quick as Kagome had hoped and they hadn't passed by the tree. The village came into view, and Kagome's heart fluttered as she was excited to see her friends again. Shippo was sitting on a fence, facing away from them.

"Shippo!"

His fluffy tail frizzed up, and he hopped to turn around and look at the source. His mouth was spread in an open smile from ear to ear.

"Kagome!" he yelled, leaping forward and scampering towards her.

She opened her arms for him to jump into happily. He crawled up around her, scaling up her back and crawling over her shoulder to land in her arms. His excitement filled Kagome with laughter, giggling as he ran all over her.

"Kagome, we've been so worried about you!" he yelled, nuzzling into Kagome's chest as he gripped her shirt.

"Worried? But didn't you know I was safe?"

"We couldn't help it!"

"Where's Miroku and Sango?"

"They're around I guess."

"Well, take me to them!"

"I don't know _exactly _where they are!"

"Can't you at least try?"

Kagome and Shippo's conversation was cut short as a duo of voices yelled out, "Kouga!"

Kouga perked up at the familiar voices, racing to them. His lackeys Ginta and Hakkaku were quickly approaching. Kouga jumped up mid run, planting one foot on the fence and leapt up again, wind swirling around him as he did a front flip with his feet landing firmly on the ground in front of his clan members.

"Wow, he likes to show off," Shippo said.

"Sup, guys?" Kouga said, resting his fists on his hips.

"Kouga, where've you been?" Hakkaku asked.

"Oh ya know. Keeping guard for Kagome."

"So you mean you were waiting for her to come back like a puppy?" Ginta asked with a finger up to his lip.

Kouga slammed him over the head with a fist. "Are you tryin' to compare me to that lowlife Inutrasha?!"

"No! I didn't mean it like that!" he cried, holding his head.

"Well… he is like Inuyasha," Shippo started, leaning in close to Kagome's ear to whisper. "But a lot less charming than him, if you know what I mean."

Kagome almost snorted. "You think Inuyasha is charming?"

"Aah! That's not what I meant!"

"Hey! I heard that, ya damned runt," Kouga snapped at him.

Shippo cowered, and buried himself in Kagome's chest.

"Hey, Kagome! Your friends have been wondering about you!" Hakkaku said, waving at her.

"You mean Sango and Miroku?!" Kagome asked, perking up.

The wolf demon nodded. Kagome teemed with excitement, racing to find an entrance around the fence, almost skipping with that pep in her step. She met up with the trio of wolves, following behind the two who'd just arrived to meet back with her friends. Kagome waved at the bystander villagers who stood near their homes, getting familiar waves in return.

Shippo had shifted from Kagome's arms to the top of Kouga's head, getting a good view of the surrounding village. Kouga walked beside Kagome, his arms folded as usual. Two familiar figures came into view, two kids at their feet tugging on their clothes.

"Sango, these kids are so needy!"

"Don't be rude, Miroku," Sango said, struggling to navigate past the two kids who were bothering them with a basket of herbs in her hands. Kirara sat on Sango's shoulders, watching the fidgeting children.

"SANGO! MIROKU!" Kagome screamed from the top of her lungs.

Sango squeaked in shock, almost throwing the basket up into the air from the surprise. Miroku tensed up, his eyes widening to look at Kagome who was taking off her bag to sprint as fast as she could to the two.

Kagome hissed her teeth from the impulse move, her body still hurting all over, yet she did not slow her pace. She held her arms open as Sango looked around frantically trying to figure out what to do with the basket she held. Kirara's fur stood up as Kagome got closer and she hopped off of Sango's shoulder.

"Riku, hold this!" she said, handing the basket to the older of the two kids following them.

Kagome practically threw herself onto Sango, wrapping her arms around her friend's torso. Sango hugged her back and practically lifted her off the ground before putting her back down. Kagome gestured for Miroku to join them too, which he did. Kirara rubbed herself on Kagome's ankles.

"Tch. She didn't ask _me_ for a hug," Kouga said, huffing.

"I'm sure she'd rather hug Inuyasha than you," Shippo said, calmly sitting on the top of Kouga's head.

"THE HELL DID YOU SAY?!" Kouga barked, yanking Shippo off of him and punting him hard into the sky.

The young fox demon squealed as he was flung to the trio of hugging friends, the priestess, demon slayer, and monk, welcoming him into the hug.

"Kagome, how come you're so chummy today?" Miroku asked.

"Dunno! Just relieved to see you guys again."

"Awww, and it hasn't even been that long. Things are never the same without you, Kagome," Sango said, trying to loosen up from the hug.

"I miss you whenever you leave!" Shippo chirped.

Kagome giggled, pulling away from everyone. Kouga growled as he joined the reunited group with Kagome's bag slung over one of his shoulders.

"Well Kouga, we haven't seen you in a bit. You look steamed," Miroku said, Shippo now on his head.

"Can it, mortal."

Sango looked around her for the children who were circling around her feet, who had now disappeared with the basket of food she'd collected earlier. "R-Riku?! Ohhh!" she fumed. "When I get my hands on him I'm gonna-!" she hissed, imitating throttling with her hands.

"Oh, food? I brought some for all of us!" Kagome said, gesturing to her bag.

"Yeah, speakin' about this thing- it's soppin' wet, Kagome," Kouga said holding her bag up.

Kagome facepalmed. "I knew putting ice packs in there wasn't a good idea. Let's get to Kaede's house and eat! I've got stuff for all of us!" she said, clapping her palms together.

Everyone nodded and followed behind Kagome to the tiny house that belonged to the old priestess. Kagome peeked her head inside the home past the curtain, seeing no one inside.

"I guess she must be out…" she said, entering the vacant house anyways with everyone following her.

Kouga handed Kagome's bag to her, Kagome sighing at how wet her bag was. She placed in on the ground, first taking out the first aid equipment on the top of her belongings, then took out the ice packs and put them in one pile. The natives to this time circled around the ice packs curiously, poking and prodding it.

"It's wet… and cold!" Shippo said.

"Kagome, what exactly are these for?" Miroku asked, picking up one.

"Oh it's to like… keep your stuff refrigerated, so it doesn't spoil."

Everyone stared at her curiously. "Re...frigerated?"

_Does that word not exist yet?_ "Um…" Kagome tapped at her chin. "You know how if you put a fish in the sun all day, it'll rot?"

Everyone nodded.

"So- Ice packs are just ice all together so that you can use it. If you surrounded a fish in fresh frozen ice packs, it would prevent it from rotting as quickly! In my time, we have these things called freezers, and you can keep stuff frozen for days!"

"Interesting! Are these ones you brought with you dysfunctional?"

"I guess. They just melted really quickly because it's so hot. Speaking of- are we gonna eat or not?"

"Yes, please!" Sango said.

Kagome grinned ear to ear, pulling out a bento box. She handed one box as well as chopsticks to everyone, and gave Shippo a smaller one in size. Kagome opened hers, seeing some dumplings, nigiri sushi, and katsudon and broccoli all nicely separated.

"Ooh! I lucked out!" she said, clicking her chopsticks happily before digging in.

—-

Inuyasha peeked outside the entrance to Kikyo's temporary home, the rising sun hitting him in the eyes. He saw no one roaming, and waved for Kohaku to follow him as he exited. He was stopped in his tracks, seeing a basket covered with a cloth over the top. The half demon picked it up and lifted the cloth slightly. From what he could see as he peeked inside, it was filled to the brim with food.

He covered it and handed it to Kohaku, who looked inside of it too, gasping in surprise. The young boy closed it and looked up at Inuyasha.

"Mr. Inuyasha, where are we going?"

Inuyasha was quiet before answering, and said quietly, "I'm going to go back to that village that Kagome girl was at."

"You remember how to get there?"

"...Eh. I'm pretty sure Kagura flew in a straight line. If we retrace our steps, I'm sure we'll get there within at least a few days."

"Days?"

"Don't start complaining. You have food."

Kohaku groaned.

Inuyasha didn't exaggerate at all, as their travels together began to drag on for over 3 days. Half of their food had been depleted by Kohaku, with some of it eaten by Inuyasha. The half demon gave himself no break on this journey to the village of Kagome, but couldn't force Kohaku to constantly move.

He had complained of being tired and to Inuyasha's discomfort, he let the boy rest on his back as he carried him, the basket now in his possession. It was an uncomfortable load, Inuyasha had to make sure Kohaku stayed on his back while holding the basket with both hands. His teeth remained clenched as he focused on keeping Kohaku from falling off of him.

He wasn't so sure why he felt the need to look after Kohaku like this, he didn't know the kid. But the longer he stayed allied with Naraku, the more he noticed that Kohaku's relation with him was extremely fishy. The dead eyes and Naraku's diction that left the boy's mouth lingered in his mind. Naraku was trying to get him to kill Kohaku, treating their lives as if it were his own plaything. It made Inuyasha nauseous, and he wondered if having a taste of power with the Shikon jewel was worth staying on Naraku's side.

He shook his head. This was no time to get deep into thought, he had some place he needed to come back to.

Stopping dead in his tracks with the night sky looming above them, Inuyasha rested Kohaku on the ground. He was amazed at the fact he didn't wake up, kid sleeps like a rock. He sat with the basket on his lap, digging underneath the cover to pull out a carrot. He bit into it noisily, chewing it up with his mouth partly open. When he finished one, he slowly ate another as he watched Kohaku sleep. The expression written on the sleeping child's face looked that of troubled, but he had yet to awake from it.

As the wind rolled over the grass they rested on, the breeze blew Kohaku's hair onto his face. It tickled his nose, opening his mouth and let out a choked, garbled sneeze that woke him up. He looked around, startled as to why he was now suddenly on the ground. Inuyasha stared at him, still chewing into his carrot.

"Mr. Inuyasha…?"

"Yo."

"Where are we?"

He shrugged. "We ain't at that village yet, that's for sure."

"Oh, alright," Kohaku sighed.

Inuyasha continued to noisily crunch into his carrot, taking out one more and forced himself to put the cover back on the basket. He was saving most of the food for Kohaku, who needed it more than him.

Kohaku had almost fallen back asleep when Inuyasha alerted him to attention by sharply saying, "Get up."

When he opened his eyes again, he saw Inuyasha on his feet looking in the opposite direction of him, his hand on the handle of his sword.

"Take the food and stand back. There's something coming our way— and fast." Once he finished his sentence, Inuyasha sprinted forward and unsheathed his Tessaiga, the blade growing larger in a glow of light. He could see something running underneath the ground, coming towards him. Suddenly, it erupted from underneath the dirt, taking the shape of large centipede with large scythe-like arms, and a snake-like head with sharp fangs jutting out horizontally from its mouth. It was definitely a sight to behold.

"Damn, there's uglies like you all over this place, huh?" Inuyasha joked.

The demon hissed, "Pitiful half demon! Give me those jewel shards, or I'll tear them from your body!"

"Who the hell are you calling a half demon?!" Inuyasha yelled.

He wasted no time raising his sword above his head and jumping for the demon. The demon dodged him, raising an arm to swipe at him. Inuyasha twisted around midair to block the attack with his sword, getting slammed back into the ground in return. He hopped out of the tiny crater before the demon could reach him with its disgusting mouth to tear him to pieces. The demon's head crashed into the ground, Inuyasha rolling out of the way. He slashed at the demon's neck, cutting at its body as he ran next to it.

It screeched, Inuyasha feeling smug from its reaction. He skidded to a stop and raised the Tessaiga above his head once again. It called for him, and it trembled in his hand. He smirked, yelling out, "WIND SCAR!"

Slamming the blade into the ground, streaks of light burst from it trailing on the ground and making contact with the oversized demon, being shredded instantly once the Wind Scar touched its skin. Inuyasha watched the spectacle with pride in his eyes as the screeching died out, the demon's figure no longer distinguishable. The demon's flesh rained to the ground.

Kohaku ran back up to Inuyasha, holding the basket of food firmly in his arms.

"Let's go, Kohaku," he said, shaking the blade free of blood and returned it back to its sheath.

"Wait, look!" Kohaku tried to point ahead. "I see a sacred jewel shard!"

_That's why it was so desperate for ours, it wanted to increase its powers. Like me._

Inuyasha wondered if the fate that befell this demon would happen to him. He scanned the scattered flesh, his eyebrows raising when he spotted the fragment. He stepped over the flesh pieces, leaning over the chunk that had the piece imbued in it. He yanked it out, looking at the little piece. Such a small thing held so much power.

He wondered what to do with it, and he clutched his chest. His eyes dragged down to the Tessaiga's handle, staring at it momentarily before pulling it out again. He looked at jewel shard, then back at the sword. Not spending too long thinking about it, Inuyasha smacked the shard directly into the middle of the blade. Light erupted from the contact, the conflicting power of the two sparking off of one another, blowing his hair back.

Power surged through him, the overwhelming force of his making him dizzy as his eyes started to fill with blood again. He slapped a hand to his face, digging his nails into his hair as his body seized up. He screwed his eyes shut, waiting for the energy to settle in his body. He heaved as the light died down, his head no longer spinning.

"I'm _never_ gonna get used to that," he groaned.

The setting sun in the west was always a spectacle Kagome enjoyed watching with her friends. The warm breeze comforted her.

"Guys… we've been here a few days now. Are we gonna leave soon?" Kagome whined.

"Um… if you want, we can leave tomorrow," Sango said.

"How come we haven't left yet, though?" 

"Don't think we've forgotten about your injury, Kagome," Miroku said. "We can't just run out with your arm so badly hurt."

"It's not that bad, see?" Kagome said, flexing her hand and moving around her arm albeit a bit slowly.

Sango grabbed her arm and squeezed it- not too hard, but enough to elicit some pain. Kagome stifled a shriek, hissing her teeth harshly as she sucked some air in between them and yanked away her arm.

"See?"

"Anyone would be in pain if you squeezed on their wound, Sango!"

Sango's face flushed in embarrassment.

"_But_ the point is that there's still a wound on your arm, Kagome. You can't rush into battle if you're not sure that you can even pull your bowstring. We just wanted to give you enough time to heal before we headed out," Miroku chimed in.

"I think four days has been more than enough, you guys. Plus, it's not like I'm the only one fighting!"

"I know that, but sometimes your skills make up for where we lack. I know you're anxious to find Inuyasha, but you need to think of yourself first."

Kagome stared at Miroku, his statement pinning a needle in her heart. Maybe she was a little bit fixated on her goals of finding him.

"We care about your wellbeing, Kagome. We want Inuyasha back too, but you have to know that it's Inuyasha. He's strong, and he'll be able to survive until we find a way to free him from Naraku's grasp."

Sango looked away. Kagome sighed, scratching at her bandages underneath her sleeve.

"Alright, I understand," she tugged on Sango's sleeve. "Sango, wanna help me change my bandages?"

Sango looked back up at Kagome's face, hers almost guilty with empathy.

"While you two ladies are doing that, I will be taking a stroll around the village. To clear my head and such before we depart tomorrow," Miroku said, placing a palm on his chest.

"Clear your mind of what, exactly?" Kagome asked flatly.

"Oh, you know."

"Monk, if I catch you around some _woman,_ you'll be in for some pain," Sango said, cracking her knuckles.

Miroku stammered, sweat running down his face. Sango yanked him on his ear, pulling him down to meet her.

"I promise, I won't do anything! I swear on it!" Miroku cried.

"You'd better not," Sango growled, letting go of him.

"Come on, Sango," Kagome said, heading back to Kaede's cabin. Sango followed behind her, shooting Miroku an "I've got my eyes on you" look. He just waved at her with a smile on his face.

"Hi, Lady Kaede!" Kagome said.

"Ah, there thee are. How are thou on this evening?" the old woman said, sitting near Kirara and Shippo.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. Where's Kouga and the other two?" Kagome sat near her bag, pulling out her first aid equipment."

"Thou's wolf allies? The leader said he was going to hunt for food himself, and his comrades accompanied him. I do not know when they may return."

"Geez, well I hope they're back by the time we leave tomorrow."

Kagome rolled up her sleeve and unwrapped the bandages around her arm. They fell to the ground, revealing the large red lines in her arm again. They were still sensitive, not healed enough that she could leave them unwrapped yet. Sango gazed at them, recalling the horrific sight of seeing Kagome curled in on herself, her arm doused in blood. Kagome had to endure so much pain from Inuyasha, it made her sick to her stomach.

Sango was handed bandages as Kagome went on to cleaning her wounds again. The demon slayer happily assisted her friend, making sure that the bandages were tight.

"Thanks, Sango," Kagome said, earnestly beaming at her.

"It's no problem," Sango nodded, returning a soft smile to her friend. She always felt so relieved in Kagome's presence.

—

Silence hung over the cabin as moonlight gazed in through the windows, Kagome's party sleeping soundly on their mats.

Kagome's eyes flashed open when she felt pressure begin to surround her, gasping. _Three jewel shards?!_

Kagome shot up, looking at her sleeping peers. Sango was closest to her, and she crawled over to her and shook her gently. She groaned, looking back at Kagome almost with irritation in her tired, squinted eyes.

"Huh…?"

"Sango, come with me, now!" Kagome grabbed her by the wrist and tried to get her up and onto her feet.

Kagome practically dragged Sango outside, picking up her pace once she knew that her allies didn't wake up.

"Kagome, what is going on?"

"I sense jewel shards. One of them is Kohaku's, and two more belong to Inuyasha!"

Sango gasped, immediately waking up. "Kohaku?! And Inuyasha has two?!"

Kagome nodded. "I'm so glad we didn't leave yet."

They ran to the end of the village, Kagome skidding to a halt with Sango bumping into her, almost making them both fall over. They watched the entrance to the forest anxiously, waiting. Kagome could see the glow of the shards, but no people yet.

She saw a flash of white hair, her hair thumping in her throat. She almost started trembling as the moment when Inuyasha injured her played in her head. The half demon garbed in his familiar red clothes emerged, his young accomplice following him.

Kagome's mouth trembled as she opened it. She had to be dreaming again. The moon shone on his golden eyes as he looked up and made eye contact with her.

"I… INUYASHA!"


	10. Chapter 10

Once his body was clear in the moonlight, Inuyasha ceased approaching as he stared at Kagome. She couldn't tell what emotion was written on his face, he was just utterly flat.

_Inuyasha's demonic energy is so overwhelming… It almost makes me nauseous,_ Kagome thought.

Kohaku emerged from next to Inuyasha, coming a bit closer to the two girls than the half demon. Sango did not let this opportunity slip through her hands again, her body forcing itself to run at Kohaku.

"Kohaku!" she cried longingly, holding out her arms as the boy grew nearer.

He did not try and run, letting the older demon slayer embrace him tightly with his head in her hand. Sango held her younger brother close to her, her eyes not hesitating to fill with tears to stream down her face. She slowly inched away from Inuyasha, who did not look at her, and closer to Kagome.

Kagome was glued to the spot, not knowing whether it'd be safe for her to run and hug Inuyasha or just stay put to see what he wanted. Her wound throbbed, getting the blood in her body rushing through her arm. Her body took a step forward, then another and another as the distance between her and Inuyasha got smaller.

She was now next to Sango and Kohaku, Sango watching her anxiously as Kagome got closer to Inuyasha. Both of their hands stood on end when Inuyasha uttered, "Don't come closer," making Kagome freeze instantly.

_Kagome. Does the name mean anything to you?_ Kikyo's words played back at him.

_Does the name mean anything to me?_ he thought.

Many things played in his mind for him to say to Kagome. One question exited his mouth— it was short, simple, and could answer many more questions.

"Who are you?"

Kagome was a bit taken aback at the question, slightly offended as well.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi! I told you, I unsealed you from the tree."

"I don't remember anyone unsealing me."

"I know! Naraku-"

"Why is Naraku so desperate for me to kill you?" he interjected.

Kagome thought about it.

"Because I have jewel shards and because _I_ want to kill him! We all do because of him hurting us! And I can, too. He's evil, and just wants to spread misery for his own gain. He uses everyone who allies with him then throws them away like garbage and I can't _stand_ to see this happen to you too!"

Inuyasha's eyebrow twinged. _He uses people, huh? I almost don't want to believe it, but back with Kikyo and Kohaku… _

She continued, "Inuyasha, whatever you do, please, please, don't stay with him. We're your friends! Don't you wonder why the heck you woke up with us worrying over you?!"

Kagome started to walk to him again, going past Sango and Kohaku who watched her intently. Kohaku wanted to say something. He knew that they had been with each other before, but what good would his word prove? Wouldn't that throw him into even more danger if Naraku knew that he knew?

Inuyasha tensed up as the girl got closer. The more he stared at her the more it felt as if his heart was on fire. The world around him blurred, but Kagome stayed focused in his vision.

"Inuyasha, I know you're confused. I know you're frustrated because that's how you are! But I've been with you before, and I'm here to stay. I'm here to stay by _your _side! And you can stay with us!"

"Stay back," he growled, readying himself to draw his sword with his hand over the handle.

Kagome still grew closer to him. Her resounding defiance and perseverance made his head start to pound causing him to wince from the pain.

"I won't hesitate to kill you."

At this point, he didn't want to hurt her. Something about it didn't feel right. The aura she gave off was far too well meaning. Inuyasha's hand guided him to draw his sword anyway, it coming out as it scrapped the sides of its scabbard in a bright yellow light. He pointed it in front of Kagome's face, the girl not warded off by it at all.

"Killing me won't help you."

He sucked in a small but harsh breath through his teeth, lowering his sword a bit. Kagome walked around the blade, her fingers feeling the new powerful sensation in the Tessaiga's blade. She was worried as to what this might be doing to his mind. Despite this, the shards felt pure. So he couldn't be affected by it too badly… yet.

She said calmly, "You have to know that Naraku erased your memories, Inuyasha."

Troublesome girl.

A tornado of wind spun behind Inuyasha, the half demon tensing up but knowing exactly who it was. Kagome gasped, shielding her eyes from the dirt and gravel that threatened to fly into them from the harsh gusts.

"Shut your mouth, girl!" Kagura shouted, whipping out her fan and swiping it in the air, creating a harsh wind to throw Kagome back. She yelped, being tossed onto her back harshly and flopping onto her front.

Kagome groaned from the fall then cried out, "Wait!"

Kagura yanked on Inuyasha's arm, plucking out a feather in her hairpiece simultaneously for them to escape on.

He looked the other way as Kagura picked him up, staring the incarnation in her face as he put his Tessaiga away. Breaking eye contact with him, she gasped, ushering Inuyasha to look at what caught her attention. Kagome was hanging off of the feather, gripping onto its thick strands for dear life, her weight beginning to tilt over their ride. Inuyasha's eyebrows creased almost in fear for this girl's life as she was so desperate to get to him.

"Inuyasha!" she cried, as tears fell from her face. He couldn't tell if Kagome were actually crying or if it were from the wind hitting her eyes so aggressively.

Her face was flushed red and she paid no concern to the growing height between her and the harsh ground.

"Inuyasha, I'm begging you to stay with us! You have— You have the choice!" she screamed, staring up at him as the wind batted their hair on both of their faces.

He stared at her, Kagura looking between them, interested in what his choice may be. He started to reach out a hand to her, and Kagome tried to reach out hers. Her other hand slipped, sending her plummeting back towards the ground. Sango shrieked, her fist coming up to her mouth as she bit her knuckle.

"Kohaku, stay here!" Sango said, sprinting past her brother to catch her friend with her arms up and wide open.

"Oh my God! I'm so stupid!" Kagome shrieked with her fists covering her eyes as she came closer to connecting with the ground.

"KAGOME!" the voice that yelled was not who she hoped it was.

She fell into two firm arms, wind gusting around her. She already knew who caught her. Kagome moved her hands from her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, seeing the face of her savoir.

"Kouga, you're back!"

"Yeah, and just in time too. I smelt that mutt's stench from a mile away and tried to get here before he did," he said, looking up at the two enemies who were escaping. Inuyasha stared down at him, a slight look of irritation crossing his face.

Kouga skid on his heels as they hit the ground, then jogged to a halt.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Sango asked, running up to the wolf demon and priestess with her brother following behind her.

"I'm fine, Sango," Kagome said trembling, obviously a bit shaken. She was staring off past them, not looking at anything in particular. Kouga rested her onto her feet, her arms still around his neck- tightly.

"Dang, Kagome, didn't realize you were so eager to see me again!" Kouga joked smugly.

Her arms immediately snapped off of him, raising them up as she wobbled away from him. Kagome fidgeted with her hair and scratched her skin as she came down from that adrenaline high.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sango asked, reaching out for her.

Kagome sighed and fanned herself saying, "I'm— I'm okay." Suddenly, she collapsed on the ground like a sack of rocks. Everyone around her shrieked, Kouga scooping up Kagome into his arms and sped off back to Kaede's home with Sango and Kohaku chasing after him.

—

"The hell'd you pick me up for?"

"Naraku wants to see you, obviously."

"I was in the middle of something."

"He knows," Kagura said sharply, alluding to the few Saimyosho that hovered near them.

Inuyasha's eyebrows twitched and he looked away from Kagura. She didn't exactly sound pleased to say it, almost as if she had hoped Inuyasha had continued on his endeavor with Kagome.

"Why isn't Kohaku coming back with us?"

"You probably don't reme- know this, but Kohaku is usually on his own most of the time. Let the boy roam."

"Let him roam? He's like a 6-year old. You're gonna get him killed."

"I don't really have a say in the matter."

Inuyasha kept quiet for a bit, folding his arms. "What does Naraku need me for?"

"He wants to speak with you."

"About?"

"I wouldn't know."

More silence before Kagura said, "You should… stay on your toes."

"What?"

"Just take the advice."

He huffed.

They remained silent, Kagura not daring to say anything more with the Saimyosho hovering nearby as they returned to the castle. Once they landed after a few hours, Inuyasha hopped off and headed inside with the incarnation following close behind him. Something felt off.

An unsettling pressure filled the castle as Inuyasha entered it. Kagura followed behind him, feeling it as well. Inuyasha's throat felt tight, and a weight felt like it began to settle on his heart. He gulped, and head down the hall that led to the room Naraku always resided in. A harsh red light exited from the room as it spilled into the hallway, Naraku's silhouette cutting through the light.

Inuyasha paused before he entered the room, standing in the door's opening. Naraku stood in front of the room, where the red hue came from. He did not face Inuyasha.

"Come inside, Inuyasha," he said, his voice ringing through the room.

Inuyasha glanced at Kagura before heading inside.

"What'd you call me back here so soon for? Thought you were giving me a break."

"I was. Though it seems you are in need of a more observant eye watching over you."

"An eye?"

"Yes. For someone who has just begun to work with me, you have garnered quite the audacity to roam on your own. To visit your enemies."

"You're getting mad at me, but not Kohaku? You left him there with our 'enemies'!"

"I find Kohaku to be trustworthy. Furthermore, his presence there without you could be much more useful to me."

"Useful to you?! I'm just doing you favors while you repay me for it."

"Favors?" Naraku glanced at Inuyasha, sending a shiver through the half demon's spine.

In an instant, Inuyasha's heart felt like it was suddenly going to burst. His entire body seized up, the painful feeling of his entire body clench beginning to overwhelm him. He clutched his chest, his nails digging into his skin as if he were trying to tear his way into his own heart. The half-demon's knees buckled underneath him, bringing him down to the floor. He used his free arm to support his upper body to prevent it from collapsing onto the ground with his legs.

Naraku looked down on the half demon, his eyes cold and unforgiving. He held up a clenched fist with the sacred jewel trapped in his palm, forcing his overwhelming demonic energy to taint the jewel and influence Inuyasha's shards.

Inuyasha's body lurched up, throwing his head back and grabbing his face as he howled in pain as he was forced to lose himself again. His screaming halted him from forming words but the violent shaking of his head begged for Naraku to stop. The blood filled his eyes again, his amber irises being lost to a deep emerald. His fangs and nails sharpened, Inuyasha clenching his jaw and baring his teeth and gums.

Naraku cracked a slight smile at the half demon's suffering.

Inuyasha's arms lowered to his sides with his screaming having died down into pained snarls. He brought his head down and glared at Naraku, the ferocity of what he felt not even being suppressed for a moment. Without any warning, Inuyasha lunged for Naraku with his sharply clawed hand outstretched.

Naraku snickered, raising his arm at Inuyasha for it to quickly distort in an amalgamation of discolored flesh that did not suit his body. The dark green and veiny arm shot out, catching Inuyasha by the throat and slamming him into the hallway wall outside the room. Kagura, who stood outside the door, gasped seeing Inuyasha shoot past her and get pinned on the wall with such a hard thud. Inuyasha clawed at the hand wrapped around his neck that slowly got tighter in an attempt to cut off his breathing.

It's not like he was really breathing anyway, his shallow and quick breaths through his teeth already contributing to the lack of air entering his body. Naraku's arm throbbed and pulsed horrendously, Inuyasha mindlessly trying to tear off chunks of the flesh only for it to reform seconds later.

"I have the power to push you over the edge and make sure you can never return. Be grateful for your encounter with Kikyo." Naraku's grip on the sacred jewel loosened, stopping himself from tainting the jewel more. Inuyasha gasped in relief, his senses coming back to him as his face and nails reverted to (almost) normal.

"Her spiritual powers are forbidding me from permanently ruining your shard."

Inuyasha still clawed at Naraku's arm for him to let go, his grip so tight Inuyasha couldn't breathe. Naraku came closer, lessening the distance between the two as he came out into the hallway.

"Know this, Inuyasha. You are not doing _me_ any favors. _I_ am doing _you_ one," Naraku said.

His arm reverted from its distorted form to his normal one, releasing Inuyasha from his grip and let him fall to his face on the floor, his weight crashing down mercilessly onto the wooden flooring. Kagura watched this in dread. Naraku slowly shot a glance at her before looking down at Inuyasha and kneeling over him. He picked up a chunk of the half demon's white hair and wrapped it around his hand, allowing him for a tight grip on it. Inuyasha's breathing was ragged, coughing a bit as he regained his breath. His inhale was choked off by a harsh yank of his hair that lifted his upper body off the ground.

Inuyasha sucked in a sharp gasp, wincing at the pain at his scalp. His amber eyes burned into Naraku's red ones, the older man's eyes savoring every ounce of pain he inflicted on the teen. His eyes were wide and eyebrows creased and quivering along with his lips.

Fear. It's what Naraku loved to plant into his victims the most.

"You are on my side, Inuyasha. You work for me," Naraku said, opening his hand and letting Inuyasha's hair slip out of it to drop him back on the floor. Standing to his feet, he began to enter the room the two were parked in front of, but paused to barely look back at Inuyasha. "From now on, you will be accompanying me, and no one else. Kagura, watch over him and make sure he doesn't try to escape until I need him." And with that, Naraku closed the door behind him.

Kagura was rendered silent, watching the entire turmoil in shock. A bead of sweat rolled down her face, the incarnation sighing as Naraku no longer being in her presence took a weight off of her heart. She watched the door as she crept over to Inuyasha and knelt down next to him. He was face down, with his arms curled around his head— hands balled into fists.

"Inuyasha?" she whispered.

He didn't give a response, but Kagura could hear some quiet noises emitting from him underneath his thick blanket of hair.

"Get up."

He still refused to respond.

"Are you alright?" she asked very quietly.

Inuyasha grumbled then barely lifted up his head, his hair obscuring most of his face, except for his lips. He quietly said, "I must be the biggest dumbass in the world."

Kagura's eyes softened with sympathy.

"Come on, get up," she urged quietly, getting his arm around her shoulder.

He didn't really want to move, but he fell for Kagura's sympathy and concern and let her walk him outside. His hair still covered his eyes with his head hanging low, he sighed, "I guess that's what you meant by 'stay on your toes'."

Kagura nodded, sitting Inuyasha next to her on the stairs of the castle. Inuyasha chuckled weakly, then sat up.

"God, I am such an idiot. That girl, Kagome, she was right. Naraku is one hell of a bastard, I have no idea how I didn't immediately see through his bullshit."

"Do you plan on doing something?"

Inuyasha side-eyed her skeptically. "Why do you wanna know?"

"Because if you have any interest in killing Naraku then so do I."

Inuyasha's ears stood up, his eyebrows raising a bit.

"You've got his stench all over you. Aren't you part of him?"

Kagura looked away from him, into the distant forest that surrounded the castle.

"I am. But I don't want to work beneath him any longer. He has my heart and views my life as expendable. He can kill me at any moment, and all I want is to be free."

"So you want me to kill him for you?"

"Yes, I do. You have the power to do so."

"But he's got power over me."

"You'll be able to overcome it," Kagura said affirmatively.

Inuyasha looked at her, very intrigued as to why she chose to open up to him now. Judging by her cautiousness earlier, she probably expected a situation like this to happen. He looked away, staying silent for a while before piping up to say, "You're not gonna leave me alone tonight, are you?"

"I can't, unless you want us both to lose our heads."

"Nah, I can't have that," Inuyasha said, making a fart noise with his mouth.

_It's definitely different to have him around me when we're on the same side. He's the only one who understands how I feel right now._

They remained silent, sitting next to one another before Kagura noticed he had fallen asleep sitting up. Inuyasha was hunched over, with his head low.

_How does he fall asleep so easily?_ Kagura thought, staying next to him until the sun began to rise. Inuyasha had a habit of grumbling and twitching in his sleep, which would lightly disrupt his rest before he immediately blacked out again. It was amusing to see him like this, instead of him growling and yelling at her about how he was going to kill her.

Goosebumps ran up Kagura's neck and behind her ears, setting her on edge as she felt Naraku's presence getting closer. She jumped to her feet and faced the door, Inuyasha still fast asleep.

"Hey, Inuyasha! Wake up!" she scream-whispered, jostling his shoulder briefly before stepping back.

The castle's entrance slid open, Naraku looking Kagura in her flat red eyes. His eyes traveled to Inuyasha, who groaned from Kagura jostling him. He mussed with his hair as if that would immediately clear the fogginess in his head, blinking his eyes a few times.

"On your feet, half breed," Naraku said, yanking on Inuyasha's hair once again and pulling up to his feet.

Inuyasha hissed, wrenching his eyes shut at the sharp pain. Not what he needed to be greeted with when he woke up. Naraku's apathetic eyes glared at Inuyasha, letting go of his hair to let Inuyasha stand on his own feet. Inuyasha glared at Naraku, scratching at his scalp to ease the pain in it, his gaze not fazing the man at all.

"HALF BREED?!" Inuyasha spat. "You're one to talk! I can smell the half demon all over you."

Kagura covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. Naraku scowled at him, but hid his reaction. "I'd suggest you watch your tongue, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha clenched his jaw and looked away, stepping backwards down the stairs to stand next to Kagura.

"Ahem. Be grateful I've spared your sanity. I have work for you, so you will be accompanying me."

"I'm okay you guys, I just- phew, I just REALLY didn't expect to plummet like… 30 feet! It was such an awful rush," Kagome said, sighing as she slapped her own hand into her face.

"Drink your water, Kagome," Sango said, putting a plastic bottle filled with water up to her friend's lips.

"Kagome, did that mutt do anything to you?" Kouga asked, leaning over Kagome who was resting on Sango's lap.

Kagome sipped from the bottle then sighed before answering. "No he didn't do anything to me. He was just… here to talk. I think he's been realizing things about Naraku."

"Think he's comin' back to his senses?"

"I hope so."

Sango sighed and looked at Kohaku, who was on the opposite side of the room sitting near Miroku and Shippo with Kirara on the boy's lap.

"Kohaku, are you hungry at all? We have some left over rice from our last meal," Miroku asked.

Kohaku nodded sheepishly. "I hope I'm not imposing on you…"

"Not at all, we're relieved you're here and that you're okay," Miroku said, handing Kohaku a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks.

The young boy took them reluctantly and sunk into a corner to eat.

"Your sister has been worried sick about you, it's good to see that you're okay." Out of the corner of Miroku's eye, he saw Sango coming over to them.

Kohaku eyed her cautiously.

Sango sat in front of them, looking back at Kagome, who was chatting with Kouga and his wolf friends that crowded around her with concern. She faced her brother and Miroku again, asking, "Kohaku, what has it been like with Inuyasha? Is he okay?"

The boy looked up from his meal and nodded to answer Sango's second question. "He's nice. He doesn't seem to remember you guys or Naraku, though."

Miroku sighed, "We know. Naraku erased his memories."

"Mm," Kohaku said, continuing to eat. "He protects me. It's nice to be around him…"

"Inuyasha?"

"Yes."

"Wow, Inuyasha being nice to be around? That's a new one," Shippo sneered.

Sango shushed him harshly. "I'm just glad you're safe. It's good to know that Inuyasha was protecting you," she said, brushing some of her hair behind her ear. "But I'm sure you're tired. You should get your rest."

Miroku and Shippo nodded in agreement, heading away from the brother and sister to go back to Kagome and the wolves. Sango slipped closer to Kohaku, brushing back the hair on his forehead to plant a kiss on it. It caught Kohaku by surprise, his face flushing in embarrassment from it. She smiled at him and let him eat, going back to her friends.

Within time, the group had set up to continue getting their rest. Kohaku slept next to Sango and Kirara, Sango just recently freeing Kohaku from a hug as she rolled onto her other side. Kohaku's eyes flashed open, turning his head to see the back of Sango's head. He got up cautiously, making sure to not make a sound as he got his Kusarigama and stepped over the sleeping innocents.

Kohaku slinked out of the tiny home, looking at Kouga and his wolf friends that slept outside before turning to leave the village.

"Got somewhere you need to be going?" Kouga asked from behind him.

Kohaku turned around and nearly jumped, seeing the wolf demon that crept up on him.

"I can't stay here."

"And why not? Don't tell me you're goin' back to Naraku to spill anything to him," Kouga growled, taking one step to tower over Kohaku.

"No! Of course not!" He looked away. "You're all too nice to endanger you all like that, so I can't stay," Kohaku said, turning back around and running away.

"Hey! Wait!" Kouga called, but didn't chase after him. He hissed his teeth and sat back against the wall next to his companions, sulking and grinding his teeth until the sun rose.

Kouga could hear a panic forming inside as the morning began, with Sango calling for her brother.

"Kohaku?!" Sango rushed outside, looking around anxiously.

She turned to Kouga, her face firey with emotions. He looked up at her, already knowing how this interaction would pan out.

"Did you see him leave?!"

"Yeah, I did."

Miroku and Kagome rushed out after her, standing in the doorway to watch the altercation.

Sango grabbed him underneath his shoulder pads, hoisting him off the ground which caught him off guard. His allies who were asleep on his shoulders fell to the ground together, startled by the harsh awakening.

"Didn't you stop him?!" she yelled.

"Get yer hands off of me!"

"Sango!" her friends cried, both pulling her off of Kouga, Miroku keeping her hands on her shoulders.

"He's my _brother!_ I've been looking for him for ages and then you just let him go?! I was so relieved to see him again, I—!"

"The kid said he couldn't stay here."

"Huh?"

"He _said _he couldn't stay here. I dunno what the deal is between you two, but from the look I got on his face, he looked like he didn't trust himself to be around here."

"Sango, you know he's still under Naraku's influence at times. It could be any moment when we're caught off guard that he could attack us," Miroku said.

"But…!"

"I'm sorry, Sango, but he's right. He probably left for our safety."

"But Inuyasha isn't with him anymore. He's all alone again," the tone in Sango's voice shifted from aggravated to dejected, her looking down at the ground.

"I promise you, Kohaku can take care of himself," the monk added.

Sango slumped, dropping her head to hide her face and the tears that fell from it. She almost fell to her knees, but Kagome and Miroku both caught her to bring her back inside. Kouga watched them head back inside and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Tch, damn girl really actin' as if she was gonna beat me up! Ugh."

After a bit of preparation inside, Kagome and her companions exited Kaede's home with Kagome proudly leading them with her huge yellow bag, quiver and bow on her back. Sango hung near Miroku, her energy way down and her demeanor gloomy. Miroku nudged her a few times in an attempt to cheer her up but she just groaned, looking ahead of her with dead eyes.

Kouga sauntered up to Kagome sluggishly with his arms folded. "Whatcha got on the agenda fer us, Kagome?"

"Simple. We find Inuyasha, then we destroy Naraku."

Kouga cracked his knuckles and grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me."


	11. Chapter 11

"Work…?" Inuyasha hissed.

"Yes. Kanna has located another jewel shard in a far off village. You will come with me and retrieve it," Naraku said.

"Kanna?"

"Oh, you're not familiar with her?" Naraku asked, stepping aside to show the girl approaching from down the shadows of the hallway.

The girl in pure white emerged with a mirror in her arms, in the glass of the mirror reflected the image of a village. It didn't look familiar to Inuyasha, so at least it wasn't the village that Kagome was staying at. In fact, it looked more like a small kingdom.

"Let us be on our way," Naraku said, walking past Inuyasha down the short flight of stairs.

Inuyasha clicked his teeth, his breathing shallow and his shoulders tense as he began to follow Naraku begrudgingly. He and Kagura locked eyes, the solidarity of stressed shared between them radiating through one another. She watched them off, the boy with the red outfit disappearing with the man in the white cloak.

"Kagura," Kanna said softly, her quiet voice somehow piercing through Kagura's ears and alerting her to attention. "Inuyasha will not return from this situation safely."

"What do you mean?"

Kanna stared off before taking a deep breath to say, "The fly will be trapped in the flytrap's jaws."

"What?" Kagura asked, a bit put off by Kanna's ominous statement.

The young girl in white shook her head, turning around to go back inside. Her movements were eerie, and her white outfit in contrast to the dark surroundings of the castle made her look like a ghost.

Kagura stayed fixed in her spot, her heart pulling her in two different directions. Naraku hadn't called her to accompany the two, and she knew that following Naraku without his authorization would leave them on more turbulent ground. She hissed her teeth, plucking a feather from her hairpiece to be carried off by the wind on it.

"Sango!" Kagome shouted, letting an arrow fly as it shrouded itself in a bright purple light.

The arrow pierced through a demon that had Sango in its grasp, it shrieking and dropping her to the ground. Kicking up dust, the demon slayer raced to her Hiraikotsu that was jammed into the ground and wasted no time yanking it up and slamming it through another demon near Miroku, decapitating it where it stood.

"Kagome!" Kouga yelled from behind her, making her tense up.

He scooped her off the ground, making her squeal as yet another demon swiped for her with an oversized claw.

"Wah! Thanks Kouga!" she said, twisting over on her side so that their chests faced on another and so she could see behind him.

Pulling out another arrow, she aimed behind Kouga's head, gritting her teeth from the pain that twinged in her right arm and then fired. Kagome blasted the demon's head off, its body collapsing onto the ground. As Kouga fell to a landing, he shifted Kagome over to his right shoulder so his left arm were free.

"Move it, lowlifes!" He shouted, using the claws on his free hand to tear apart a demon they were falling at.

He reduced it to a pile of flesh in a matter of seconds, landing in the piles of flesh that was its prior body. Kouga put down Kagome next to him, her raising one of her legs awkwardly to not get demon blood all over her shoes.

"Kagome, why the hell are all these demons after us?"

"They're probably after my piece of the sacred jewel, like usual. And since you have a couple too, it's probably drawing tons of demons towards us!"

"So basically we're a buncha demon magnets?"

"Yeah, for the most part."

"Kagome!" Miroku called from near Sango. "Get behind me!" he said, his left hand firmly grasping the beads around his right wrist.

She nodded at the monk and then at her wolf demon friend, and they headed back to regroup. Kouga sped up, the shards in his legs granting him the ability to do so. Kagome skidded to a halt and gasped, shrieking out, "KOUGA, WAIT!"

He looked back at her, not being able to stop as a demon slammed into his side, throwing him away to slam through some trees like a piece of garbage. She could hear a sharp yelp from him fade as he got further away. Kagome could hear Miroku yell for her to hold onto something, and instantly she felt a harsh wind that tugged all over her. Panicking, she jammed her bow into the dirt as far as she could, hoping it could anchor her down to the ground. She faced away from the demon, shifting her quiver from her back to her front so that her arrows wouldn't be sucked out of it.

Kagome could hear the howls of the demon before it quickly ceased along with the vacuum of the wind tunnel.

"Kagome, quickly!" he yelled again.

Kagome yanked her bow out of the ground and sprinted to get behind him. Sango, Kirara, Shippo, Ginta, and Hakkaku were already there, the latter three cowering from the immense amount of demons around them.

Miroku unfurled his wind tunnel again, the black void dragging in the crowd of demons that dared to attack them. Within a few moments, the wind tunnel closed once more and the area surrounding them was cleared. It was a terrifying sight to watch these being sucked into the endless abyss in Miroku's palm. Everyone sighed in relief, the fighters wiping the sweat off their foreheads.

"Man, this would be so much easier if-"

"Kagome, don't say it," Miroku said.

She looked up at him, sucking her lips in to shut herself up as he approached her.

"I know it doesn't seem like it, but the more you think the way you currently do, the more you're gonna hurt yourself. Do you understand what I mean?"

Kagome nodded, rubbing away the sadness that rose on her face. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry! You didn't do anything wrong, but- just don't focus so bad on the 'if's. We're going to get him back."

Kagome nodded again.

"Hey, where's Kouga?" Shippo asked, hopping onto the top of Kagome's head.

They all looked around for a bit before settling on one spot when they saw the allied wolf demon running up to them.

"Dammit! Can't believe I missed all that!" he shouted.

In a blur of wind, he sped up in front of Kagome, placing his hand on the back of her waist and pulled her close to him. She blinked in confusion as he pulled on the collar of her shirt, looking inside of it. "Did that monk suck up your jewel shards?"

Shippo slapped his hands on top of his eyes. Kagome shut her eyes and shrieked, her impulse taking over and let her throw a balled fist into Kouga's face. It hurt her more than it hurt him, Kagome's knuckles cracking from the impact. But her punch did its job, sending Kouga stumbling away from her, closer to her allies. Sango growled and slapped him on the cheek as hard as she could, sending him spinning on his foot with a red palm mark on his face.

Ginta and Hakkaku raced to his side to support his body before he collapsed on the ground from the sudden beating.

_Can't believe I just got hit by two women today…!_ Kouga thought to himself.

"Damn, we've got _another _lecher on our hands, it seems!" Sango hissed.

"Hey! I ain't no lecher!" Kouga shouted, rubbing his cheek.

Miroku sighed, "I'm so disappointed to see this behavior from you."

Kouga shot up to his feet, stomping over to Miroku and trying to tower over him with his height. "I didn't mean it like that, _hypocrite!_ Don't think I haven't seen the bullshit you've pulled!" he said, pointing a sharp accusing finger underneath Miroku's chin.

Miroku banged him on the forehead with his staff nonchalantly, the anger on Kouga's face becoming more apparent as he trembled with rage.

"Now, now, Kouga, this isn't about me."

"Why you…!" he grabbed Miroku by the collar of his robe, holding off the urge to hoist him off the ground and toss him into the distance. "I ain't like you. I was just making sure she didn't lose her jewel shards since you wanna wave around your wind tunnel like it's nothing!"

"Don't bring my wind tunnel into this," Miroku said, the tone in his voice significantly less chirpy than prior.

"Cut it out! We don't have time to fight each other!" Sango barked.

"Sorry, Kouga," Kagome said, shaking out her wrist and hissing from the pain in her arm, her face a bit red with embarrassment. "I've never punched anyone before— you startled me! Sorry you had to be the first," she finished, rubbing her knuckles on her cheek to numb the pain.

Kouga let Miroku go and huffed, turning face away. "You're fine, Kagome. My bad."

"Anyways, if this squabbling is over, I figured I propose we rest here for the night. It's unlikely we'll find another village so soon after leaving, and we should make use of this clear area that was so graciously cleared by the demons who attacked us!"

"Oh yeah! And we can eat some lunch now, too!" Kagome said, doing her best to perk up. She looked behind her, spinning around as she looked for her huge yellow bag. "Oh, there it is!" she said, pointing at it by a nearby untouched tree.

She dragged it over, sitting down in front of it, making sure she sat on top of the pleats of her skirt. "I think I'm running low on bento boxes so we might have to share," she said, pulling some boxes out of her bag.

"Nah, Kagome don't stress it. Us demons don't need ta eat as much as you humans! Apart from that little tyke of yours," Kouga said, pointing at Shippo.

"Hey, I am a growing boy! I need my food!" he whined.

"Uh-huh, yeah, keep tellin' yourself that," Kouga said sarcastically.

"It's no problem. If he wants some food I'll give him some," Kagome said, handing a tiny bento box and chopsticks to him.

Shippo grasped for it eagerly, plopping down with the container on his lap to eat. He stuck his tongue out at Kouga and happily began to eat. Kouga growled and looked away. After giving her friends their food for the day, they all settled down near one another, some sitting on tree trunks of fallen trees.

Kouga sat up straight from his hunched over, folded arms and crossed legs position, immediately calling everyone to attention.

"Knew I was smellin' somethin'. Naraku. Nearby," he said, getting to his feet.

"Naraku?" Kagome asked, setting aside her foot to reach for her bow and quiver.

"Look! It's Kagura!" Shippo said, pointing into the sky behind Kagome.

Their eyes were all drawn to her, seeing the woman gently making her way down to the ground. Everyone was tense, ready to be hostile for whatever she had planned. The incarnation hopped off of her feather, it shrinking and guiding itself back into its hairpiece.

"Yo," she started.

"Yo…?" Kagome asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Look, I'll make this quick. And I'm not here to fight either. Take this as a warning," Kagura said, her tone sharp and to the point.

Kagome eyed her skeptically and with distaste.

Kagura took a quick glance around, making sure no Saimyosho had followed her before saying, "_You_ need to hurry. Inuyasha is in danger."

"Inuyasha?!"

"Yeah. Naraku's taking him on a 'mission' but I've got the feeling he's not going to come out of it alive."

"_What!?_" Kagome shrieked. "Where are they now?!"

"I can't be too sure, but when I left, they seemed to have been heading southward. They were on their way to a kingdom of sorts. I doubt they've made it there yet on foot."

Kagome turned to her friends. "We're heading out, now."

"Wait, Kagome! This could be a trap," Sango said.

"I don't care," she said coldly. "How bad could a trap go from Naraku anyway? Even if it is, we'd still be close to him. And if we can find him we can find Inuyasha."

"It's not a trap," Kagura said, then sighed. "Look, I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm risking my life telling you this."

"Why _would_ you tell us this?" Miroku asked.

"Hmph," she huffed, turning away and pulling out the feather again. "I may be part of Naraku, but my own ambitions differ greatly from his." With that, a heavy gust of wind carried her from the ground and into the sky once more.

Kagome watched her off, seeing her head north instead of south like she told them. She shook her head and took a deep breath.

"Let's pack up." Her demeanor had immediately shifted, now that Inuyasha was in the picture again. Knowing he was in danger did not help her either.

No one dared to speak against her, they could feel a fire burning inside of her that refused to listen to them. A fire that refused to go out until Inuyasha was back on their team. Kagome's team closed their bento boxes and handed it back to her so she could put it back in her bag. She slung it over her back and ran to Kouga who squatted when he saw her approaching. Stepping onto his palms, she positioned herself onto his back and held onto his strong shoulders.

Kirara engulfed herself in flames, growing to a much larger size to which Sango and Miroku hopped onto her back, Shippo joining them in Sango's lap.

"All ready, Ka-go-me~?" Kouga cooed.

"Yeah. Let's go."

A few days passed them by, and yet Naraku and Inuyasha had yet to reach their destination. When he said that the village was far off, he definitely was not exaggerating. The tension between them was so thick, it could be cut through. It sat on Inuyasha's lungs like a brick, it being very hard for him to breathe while he was near Naraku. He couldn't stand working for him anymore. Being near him made him want to retch.

Inuyasha slowly inched his hand to the handle of his Tessaiga, the only thing he could focus on was Naraku's back facing him and his own breathing and heart pumping. The discomfort of feeling the jewel shard's surges of power run through him over and over was a sensation Inuyasha slowly grew used to, now only leaving the vague feeling of the jewel sitting inside of his throbbing heart.

His grip on the Tessaiga tightened.

_It's now or never. If I kill him, I'll be free. _

"Lower your hand, Inuyasha," Naraku said.

Inuyasha's eyes widened, his heart dropping like a rock into his stomach.

"Don't think I can't feel your animosity towards me. It's pouring out of you like a river. If you _try_ to kill me here, what do you think would happen? Do you think you'd succeed?"

Inuyasha's voice croaked, and he shut his mouth and grit his teeth. Naraku let out a slight chuckle, letting their silence continue. He didn't need to say it verbally, but Inuyasha could just hear the "I thought as much," all because he decided to hesitate.

For what seemed to have been hours later, they saw a large wooden structure appear on the horizon. Naraku continued to approach it so it came more into view before stopping, Inuyasha freezing at his halt.

"We've arrived. Inuyasha, kill everyone you see when you enter there. Leave not a single survivor."

"What?"

"Don't make me repeat myself. I'll assist you on this. Not a single soul must be allowed to escape, they may be the one harboring the jewel shard," Naraku said, turning around to look at Inuyasha.

"I'm not killing _innocent_ people for a freaking- a jewel shard!"

Naraku didn't respond at first, but Inuyasha knew he let his tongue slip as he felt a harsh shiver run through him from Naraku's glare.

"Such a poor choice in words."

Inuyasha gulped hard, choking on it as a pained screech forced itself out of his throat as Naraku forced Inuyasha's defiled shard to push his demon blood through his body, it taking over him. He tried to stifle his screams, hunching over and holding his face. His silver hair rose above his skin as his demonic energy multiplied, overwhelming himself.

The purple streaks on his cheeks seemed to bolden, as his eyes were consumed with a deep red, his golden irises disappearing completely. His arms dropped, his vocal pain having turned into feral snarls, drool dripping from in between his teeth.

Naraku smirked at the brainless demon before him, always impressed with his own power to reduce Inuyasha to a walking shell. Inuyasha drew his Tessaiga, holding the handle with an iron-tight grip.

"Inuyasha, slaughter everyone one those castle grounds. Every. Soul," Naraku ordered again.

Inuyasha's head did a violent twitch to the side, seeing the castle's protective walls on the horizon. Without hesitation, he took a powerful leap in the direction of the kingdom, leaving a large cloud of dust behind him every time his heels planted into the ground.

Ten guards who stood near the top of the wooden walls quickly noted the hostile body rapidly approaching them. They wasted not a second aiming bows as Inuyasha and fired as fast as they could. Inuyasha raised his blade, using it as a shield as all the arrows either bounced off of it or missed him completely. The wooden walls and its gate barricading the kingdom came closer to him, and Inuyasha swung through it, crashing through the front wall.

Immediately, panicked civilians screamed in fear. Inuyasha could not hear them, he only saw human targets that needed to be mowed down.

"A demon!" they cried.

Part of the front wall that Inuyasha burst through crumbled down to the ground in a heap of wood, with a couple of the archers falling with it. The remaining archers turned around and continued to shoot Inuyasha, nailing a few arrows in his back. He yelped, staggering forward but looked back and glared at the archers. He reached back and yanked the arrows out of him before squatting and leaping up to the archers' level. They all gasped, seeing that Inuyasha had just jumped up at least 20 meters to meet them.

He landed on the platform the archers stood, the poor soul that tried to shoot Inuyasha mid-air instead of backing away to the rest of their comrades met their untimely end by Inuyasha's sword upon his landing, dousing the blade in blood. The archers kept their aim on him, both sides huddled together near the large bowls of fire that decorated the walls' corners with trembling arms until one fired an arrow.

Inuyasha merely stepped to the side to dodge it, the arrowhead planting itself in one of their allies. The slight panic of killing an ally gave Inuyasha the chance to exploit their distraction, growling and slicing clean through the archers to his left.

The remaining archers fired at Inuyasha from across the gap caused by him. He jumped over the barrage of arrows flying at him, landing on the other side and cutting them all down as well. More archers from other sides of the wall started to file towards him, so Inuyasha hopped back down to the ground, falling cleanly through someone's roof. He spotted a family cowering in the corner, holding each other close to one another as the demon locked eyes with them. Inuyasha let out a garbled scoff mixed with a laugh and shot them a crooked smile.

Naraku slowly arrived at the sight of disaster, seeing some desperate people trying to climb over the large piles of wood that blocked off their exit. He could hear their cries for help, pleading for him to assist them. The half demon garbed in his white cloak only stared at them silently from underneath his hood. A noxious purple gas emitted from underneath the cloak, traveling into the walls of the kingdom. The people struggling to escape gasped, taking in the miasma, and their bodies immediately being reduced to skeletons. He hopped over them, letting himself inside the village that led up to the castle in the middle of it.

He stood in its blocked off entrance, making his miasma line the large walls surrounding everyone, ensuring that no one could escape. He spotted more archers on the wall firing at a target below them. Then he heard a loud howl before seeing the wall collapse along with the people on it. One of the bowls of fire tumbled down, setting the walls in a tiny fire before it erupted into a much larger one.

Inuyasha swung his sword almost aimlessly, tearing through houses and people to fulfill his orders. The walls were lit ablaze and began to crumble, the archers above either meeting their deaths in the flames, by the fall, or from Naraku's miasma.

After a while, the screams died out and Inuyasha was surrounded by silence and covered nearly head to toe with blood, some of it even matting some of his hair down. The only place he had left untouched was the castle itself. He took large leaps to reach it, not bothering to enter through its front doors but smashed through its ceiling. He was greeted by guards lining the walls with spears, prepared for his arrival. He didn't allow them to react, wiping them all out in one sweep.

Inuyasha savored their garbled chokes as they collapsed to the ground. He saw the princess huddled in the corner of the room, trembling in fear as her cohorts were killed in front of her, knowing she was the last person alive from those who lived on her castle grounds.

The demon took slow steps towards her, letting the blade of his sword scrape on the floor. He took in every ounce of fear from the young princess as she stared into his red eyes. Like this, he was no better than Naraku. Towering over her, he should see tears rolling down her face and her body shook horribly. He raised his sword, causing her to let out a final scream as he silenced her permanently.

Inuyasha stepped outside of the castle, his heaving returning to normally paced breathes as his senses slowly returned to him. His golden irises showed once again, even if his sclera were still blood red. He still felt violent, and craved to use his sword more but he reigned himself in, fighting off anymore urges to inflict more suffering. He saw the piles of corpses strewn about, either covered in their own blood, or turned into crumbling skeletons along the walls.

"Inuyasha," Naraku said, approaching him. "It appears that there is no sacred jewel shard here. Your efforts were in vain." He didn't sound the slightest bit disappointed, as if he foresaw this. As if he planned this. As if he knew.

"What do you mean, '_there's no jewel shard here'?_" Inuyasha growled.

"As I said. There is no jewel shard. I must've been mistaken."

"You… You mean—"

"Look around you Inuyasha. Aren't you proud? You achieved this result on your own. The lives taken, this village you've annihilated. And it's all thanks to the gift I bestowed upon you."

Inuyasha looked around him, finally taking in his surroundings. The smell of blood and smoke hit him in the nose, making him cover it to stop the awful stench. But if was too powerful to be ignored. The bodies strewn about, the lives taken, it was all his fault. He looked his Tessaiga— his hands. It was splattered with blood, innocent people's blood. He couldn't process it, as his mind went elsewhere at the sight.

The only thing snapping him back to reality as he looked at his trembling hands was Naraku's sudden outburst of maniacal laughing. And he kept laughing, and laughing, and laughing.

"Kagome, I've been runnin' for at least a day and a half now…" Kouga panted. "Your nails are diggin' into my shoulders!"

She didn't respond.

Miroku and Sango exchanged concerned glances with one another before guiding Kirara in a bit closer to them.

"Kagome, you should really be easier on him. Let us take a break so Kouga can regain his breath," Sango said.

"We can't stop now, we have to get there soon," Kagome said quietly.

"Kagome, we're going to make to him, alright? But even so, I feel that if you keep this up, it could get a little unhealthy."

She didn't respond again.

Sango sighed, saying, "Kouga, stop."

His stride immediately ceased, the group on the flying cat immediately going past him and Kagome. Kouga plummeted flat onto his face, taking hard and labored breaths as Kagome just sat on his back. Kirara turned around, bringing her friends back so they could regroup. Kagome had yet to move, and Kouga was in no shape to move in that moment.

"Kagome," Sango said.

Kagome just stared off blankly. Sango sighed again and slipped off of Kirara's side and stood next to her friend.

"Kagome…" she said again.

Kagome just croaked, but didn't give a response.

"Okay, up you go," she said, bending down and putting Kagome's arm over her shoulder and lifted her to her feet. "Let's take a walk, alright?"

Sango looked back at Miroku and Shippo, mouthing, _Stay here with Kouga._ They both gave affirmative thumbs up as she walked Kagome away with her, Kagome dropping her bag off of her back as they left. There was no real privacy in the plains they had managed to stop in, but Sango took Kagome out far enough away from the boys so that only they could hear one another.

"Talk to me, Kagome."

Kagome's head was low, obscuring her eyes. Sango waited, almost about to say something again when Kagome finally spoke up.

"Sango, what's happening to me?"

"It's grief," she answered plainly. "I think… you're becoming a little less aware of how— of things that are happening around you, and you're shutting yourself off a bit. I understand what's happening to you, I really do. And that's why I don't want to see you become me.

"We're all hurting from this, Kagome, and while I don't doubt for a second that you're hurting the most, you've gotta realize that you're not the only one looking to save Inuyasha. I don't want you to get so caught up in it that you end up hurting yourself more, okay?"

"Mmm…" Kagome whimpered.

Her nose sniffled and she pulled away from Sango.

"I feel awful."

"I can understand. I really can."

"I just…" she looked up Sango, revealing her face doused in her own agony and tears. "I can't stand to lose him," she said. Her voice was tired. The quiet, dull tone in her voice did not match the look of despair and suffering written all over her flushed red face.

Sango's heart sank seeing Kagome like this, her face welling up too. Kagome lowered her head again and raised her arms a bit, trying to bring Sango in to hug her. Sango took the invitation and locked her in a tight hug, letting Kagome know that she was there to support her. They stood there for a while, until Sango could feel Kagome slowly begin to relax. Her tears started to soak through Sango's collar, making an uncomfortable spot on her clothes. Kagome had her head buried in her friend's chest, not wanting to pull away, but she knew she had to.

She still chose to avoid eye contact, but she could feel Sango's concerned eyes burning into her.

"Better?"

Kagome nodded. "I'm better."

Sango nodded too, guiding Kagome by the shoulders back to their group.

In their time gone, Miroku had seated himself next to Kouga, giving him some water which he'd fished out of Kagome's bag. He spotted the girls, waving at them for their return.

Upon arriving, the first thing Kagome said was, "I'm sorry, Kouga."

He gaped in surprise, shaking his head.

"The heck are ya apologizing for?!"

"I pushed you too hard! You shouldn't run again so soon until you feel better."

"Pssssh. Don't get so down worryin' about me! I can take it! I just needed a breather. You and your back sack just ain't doin' wonders for my back."

"I'm sorry!"

"Hey! I said ya don't need to apologize already… If you wanna go, I'm ready to go."

Sango interrupted, "Buuuuuut, for the benefit everyone I suggest we take a break before we start up again, okay?"

Kagome nodded. There were no objections towards Sango.

—

Inuyasha dragged himself behind Naraku, his mind blank as he couldn't process anything. Naraku was unbothered, he amused at Inuyasha's suffering. The half demon's Tessaiga dragged behind him in his hand, leaving a trail of blood behind them.

Naraku's laughter rang through Inuyasha's mind, louder in his head than it was when he'd first heard it. It filled him with a rage so visceral— so unbridled— that he stood on the edge of picking up the Tessaiga to stab it through Naraku's smug skull. It made him dizzy, and his head was pounding. Despite all this raw and violent intention towards Naraku, he hung low, not feeling it within himself to attack.

He could still hear their screaming, it becoming louder as the smell of their blood on his clothes coming into his focus. Naraku knew this was pointless. He did it to test Inuyasha, to see how he would respond to this. He responded wrong. He continued to follow him.

A familiar scene filled Inuyasha's nose, making his ears shoot up.

"It's that Kagome girl!" he exclaimed, swiveling on his heel to follow the direction of the smell.

Before he could start to escape, Naraku's tentacles firmly wrapped around Inuyasha's neck, choking him and pulling him back as more tried to bind him to Naraku. He coughed then growled, gripping his Tessaiga as he swiped to cut off the fellow half demon's tentacles.

"I've had enough of this…!"

Chunks of the flesh fell to the ground, still squirming as Inuyasha freed himself and stepped back. Naraku shook his head, the only thing Inuyasha could see was his hood swaying. More appendages erupted from underneath the cloak, grabbing Inuyasha harshly and dragged him to Naraku. It was harder to break through this time, the tentacles feeling like firm but sharp bone that threatened to cut through Inuyasha's skin. Inuyasha was dragged right up to him, far too close for comfort. He looked up at Naraku, who loomed over him, seeing his piercing red eyes glaring at him beneath the shadows of his hood.

"You do not go to Kagome. You will wait for her arrival here."

—

"What the hell? I see smoke up ahead!" Kouga exclaimed, alerting Kagome on his back.

"You don't think…?"

"I'm gettin' a bad feeling. I smell Naraku's miasma from here."

Kagome felt herself shutting down again, but she took a deep breath to bring herself back to reality.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Sango asked.

She gulped and nodded. "Let's keep going."

As the group got closer, Kagome could hear Kouga retching quietly.

"Dammit. I smell Inuyasha here too, and lots of blood."

Kagome found it harder to swallow, as a horrible sinking feeling overcame her. She could already tell what the scene may be. A heap of fire lit up the sky and the grass around it. It was hard to get closer to what the structure used to have been.

"Miroku, Shippo. Get off. I'll go above and see if there's any survivors," Sango said.

The two nodded, slipping off of Kirara's back. Sango and Kirara took to the sky, doing their best to avoid the heat and flames. Sango scavenged the ground below from the sky above, seeing pools of blood in areas where there were no flames. After a few minutes of surveying, she returned back to the ground to rejoin her allies. All she did was shake her head silently.

Kagome bit her lip and mussed with her hair as she fidgeted.

"Kagome, I can still smell the mutt's stench mixed with Naraku's a bit further out," Kouga said, trying to look back at her.

"I can feel a great demonic presence nearby, as well as most of the Shikon jewel!"

"Most of it?" Shippo exclaimed.

Kagome nodded.

"Kouga, you think you can follow Naraku and Inuyasha's smells?"

"'Think'? Of course I can! Follow me," he said cockily, starting to run again.

Miroku and Shippo hopped back behind Sango, Kirara following the wolf demon and priestess.

"There's a trail of blood on the ground!" Kagome pointed out.

"This just makes it easier…"

A forest came into view, and Kouga sped up as Naraku's noxious odor and Inuyasha's familiar scent got stronger. The group dashed into the forest, trying to dodge the trees while still speeding through it.

"We're getting closer," Kagome and Kouga said simultaneously.

Kagome's breath hitched, seeing a flash of Inuyasha's white hair.

Naraku came into view as well, and Inuyasha turned to look at them. His golden and red eyes were distraught as he stood next to Naraku, Naraku's blade up to his neck.

"Inuyasha!" she screeched, at the top of her lungs.

Kagome hopped off of Kouga's back, making him stop running in surprised. She sprinted past him, taking off her yellow bag and readied her bow and arrow in her hands.

"Kagome!" Kouga yelled.

"Kagome, wait!" Sango called after her.

Inuyasha watched the girl raced up to her, and he gritted his teeth. He brought up the blade of his Tessaiga between Naraku's blade and his neck and pushed hard, destroying it. He jumped forward, to escape Naraku's grasp, not even looking back. Kagome's face lit up, seeing Inuyasha come to her. Her face then went pale in an instant.

A long arm grabbed onto Inuyasha's lengthy hair that travelled behind him as he ran, making him stop short of Kagome. Kagome reached for him as he got pulled away again, his head craning back from the force of the pull on his hair. Naraku lifted him up, another sharp bone jetting from underneath the cloak and impaling Inuyasha right through his chest.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **this is a much shorter chapter, i figured itd be best to save the stuff of substance for the upcoming chapters. :)

* * *

Kouga's mouth gaped in terror, the only thing he could choke out was, "H-holy shit."

Sango, Miroku, and Shippo watched in horror, all paralyzed with fear on how to act.

Kagome staggered backwards, her fingers trembling up onto her face to touch the blood that was splattered on it. Her brown eyes stared into fear-stricken gold irises that looked down at her in shock. As he gasped for air, the red in his sclera slowly faded to a white as blood poured out of him. They could both hear the quiet chuckle of Naraku from behind Inuyasha.

Blood spilled from between Inuyasha's teeth as he choked on his own breath, coughing to sputter some blood from his mouth. He craned his neck back to glare daggers into Naraku, wishing he could brutally murder him where he stood.

"Inuyasha, your insubordination is very disappointing," Naraku said.

Inuyasha choked again before saying, "I've got… a feeling I've dealt… with something… like this before."

"No, Inuyasha. What you are about to experience will be much worse than anything you have ever lived through."

Naraku was cut off when a flash of purple light severed the bony tendril stuck in Inuyasha. The half demon collapsed to the ground on his face, dropping his Tessaiga next to him. The grass and dirt underneath him sucked up his blood as his wound tried to heal itself. Kouga dashed up to Inuyasha, but was forced to step back as more protrusions exited from underneath Naraku's cloak that separated the half demon from the wolf demon.

"Naraku…!" Kagome growled, pulling on her drawstring again as hard as she could. Her right arm throbbed from the tension and she let go, letting the arrow fly at Naraku. It flew in a sharp path before harshly bouncing off of a pink barrier surrounding her enemy.

"Damn it!" Kagome hissed, the bitter words falling off of her tongue in an uncharacteristic manner, though it sounded strangled with a cry.

Naraku laughed, letting another sharp appendage swing itself at Kagome and missed her narrowly. Her heightened agility from the adrenaline pumping through her blood saved her from another injury to recover from.

More appendages flew outside of the barrier at Kouga, making him step back further and further from Inuyasha before Sango's Hiraikotsu smashed into some of them, allowing Kouga to push forward again. Miroku accompanied them by hurling sacred sutras to try and light Naraku's body ablaze. Naraku growled, his frustration by the team's interferences become more and more apparent. Kouga and Sango had almost reached Inuyasha again before Naraku's murderous intent multiply tenfold.

His body erupted into an amalgamation demon's body parts, his legs transforming and disfiguring into a multitude of thick tentacles that granted him height to loom above the group of his enemies. Naraku did not hold back as he shot more expendable body parts at the group, almost shooting Sango down who blocked the attack with a grunt. Naraku sprayed out miasma from underneath his cloak, the noxious gas purposefully avoiding Inuyasha while pushing the team further and further away again. Kouga had gone over to Kagome, holding her by the shoulder and arm to stop her from running straight into the miasma and getting herself killed.

"Kouga! Let go! Kouga!"

"Kagome, you're just gonna run headfirst into that miasma! _I_ promised myself I wasn't gonna let you get hurt!"

She tried to yank herself away, but his demonic grip kept her in place and out of harm's way.

"Inuyasha!" she cried.

Kouga gritted his teeth before yelling, "DAMMIT MUTT, YOU'D BETTER GET OUTTA THERE! YOU'RE MAKING KAGOME CRY BY GETTING YOUR ASS KICKED!" Kouga yelled, his voice booming louder than Kagome's.

Inuyasha struggled to get to his feet again, caught off guard when smaller tentacles from Naraku wrapped itself around his arms, legs, and neck to pull him off the ground and up to Naraku's level. He pulled his arms apart, making Inuyasha unable to fight back with his claws.

All everyone could do was watch. No effort could break through Naraku's barrier without Inuyasha's red Tessaiga.

Naraku pulled up his white cloak above his head to toss it down to the ground below. Inuyasha growled, face to face with Naraku.

"Inuyasha, have you any last words?"

Inuyasha spat on Naraku's face with a wad of blood. Naraku did not respond, only stared Inuyasha in the face as he wiped the blood mixed with spit off of his face. No more words were exchanged as the subtle sound of ribs cracking from underneath Naraku's clothes became louder. Suddenly, the cracking bones ripped through Naraku's robes and surrounded Inuyasha like a cage's doors opening around him. In between the open ribs was a black void, that emanated some dark and heavy pressure.

"You will become part of me. Jewel shard and all."

Inuyasha gasped, immediately feeling the need to struggle more. He grunted, trying to break free of his restraints as the cage slowly began to close around him.

Kagome shrieked at an ear-piercing volume, thrashing around in Kouga's arms more.

Inuyasha took a deep breath, focusing all of his strength into freeing one of his arms. He yanked as hard and as fast as he could multiple times until the tentacle wrapped around his arm snapped. He gripped one of the exposed ribs and tried to use it as leverage and to pull off of it, spreading a bit of distance between him and the welcoming void.

He howled from his struggle and did his best to look down at Kagome.

"Gah…! Damn it all to hell. Kagome! Listen to me!"

Her face lit up and her eyes widened.

"I don't know who you are, but every damn thing I've had to deal with keeps pointing back to _you!_ I'll remember you."

"Inuyasha! You can do it!" she cheered.

"I'll come back for you," he said, cracking a weak smirk for her.

"Enough senseless chatter," Naraku interrupted.

Naraku wasted no more time wrapping Inuyasha's wrist again and tearing his hand off of his rib. More tentacles protruded, pulling Inuyasha down into the void by any means necessary. He shouted and resisted as much as possible, but he kept getting closer and closer to the void. The rib cage behind him intertwined together, marking that there would be nowhere to turn.

Kagome's heart sunk once more, tears spilling from her eyes as she cried Inuyasha's name. Kouga hissed underneath his breath, letting Kagome go for a brief second to turn her around and hold her facing him. She covered her ears to block out Inuyasha's screams, but could still hear the dampened noise through her fists.

Shippo covered his eyes and turned away, whimpering.

Inuyasha cursed loudly as he kept getting drawn closer into Naraku's body, his heart pounding in his throat as he slowly came to realize that there truly was no escape. His distressed noises persisted until it was suddenly silent, followed by the faint cracking of Naraku's bones back into place. The bystanders all wanted to throw up. Kagome dryly sobbed onto Kouga, the wolf demon holding her tightly to him. His own lips quivered as his brain struggled to process the sight that had occurred before them.

Naraku's body soon reverted back to its prior state, hastily covering himself with his cloak to obscure his body. He looked down upon the group, his face covered in satisfaction.

"How unfortunate for you to have witnessed this. I do apologize for the unfortunate sight," Naraku said sarcastically, though the group was too shocked to be able to respond to his condescending tone.

"Damn you to hell Naraku!" Kouga said, squeezing Kagome tighter. "You'll pay for this!"

"Oh? Showing sympathy for your rival now, Kouga? How admirable of you."

Kouga gritted his teeth and growled, wanting to kill Naraku there and then on behalf of both Kagome and Inuyasha.

"Have any of you nothing to say? If so, then I shall take my leave," he said, wasting no time to float away, protected by his impenetrable barrier.

They all watched him float away, with the exception of Kagome, who kept her head buried in Kouga's chest. Slowly processing the situation, Miroku ran his hand through his hair and dropped his staff to the side. Sango leaned against a tree and slid down to sit on the ground, resting a hand on her forehead.

Kouga's grip was iron tight, getting lost in his own aggressive thoughts as he tried to cope with the sight that had just passed. He quickly loosened up, remembering that he was still holding someone.

"Kagome?" Kouga asked, quietly, hearing that her crying had stopped.

Suddenly, Kouga hissed in pain as touching Kagome made his skin start to burn, jumping away from her in bewilderment.

"Kouga, are you alright?" Sango asked.

"I ain't the one you should be asking that to," he said.

Everyone's attention directed to Kagome, whose head hung low. Her hair floated around her, a soft purple glow surrounding her body.

"Kagome, your spiritual energy is multiplying tremendously!" Miroku said, almost alarmed.

Kagome turned around towards the misama. She took a staggering step towards it, and everyone's eyebrows raised, unsure of what to do. Was she trying to kill herself?

Taking another step directly in front of the miasma, Kouga reached out for her again, only to be bounced off by a strong barrier surrounding her, knocking him onto the ground. Her allies gasped, anxiety crawling up their backs as they watched Kagome. She took another step, her shoe making contact with the miasma. In an instant as she made contact, the dark purple gas lit up in a bright lavender light then dissipated immediately.

Everyone gasped as the land around them was cleared.

A few feet away on the ground lay the lonesome Tessaiga, shrunken and dull and without its wielder. Kagome stared down at it, her face welling up. It was getting annoying to be crying so often, so she kept her tears down. Reaching down for the handle, she gripped it with a weak hand and held it up. She then hugged it weakly, as if she were trying to hug Inuyasha.

"This is the only thing I have left of him."

Kouga's eyes softened at her and his mouth loosened from its tight and aggressive position, drooping into a genuine frown.

"Kagome—"

"It's fine, I really just need some time," Kagome said quietly.

The silence lingered in the air for a while, everyone moving away to grant Kagome the space she desired. The young priestess remained in that spot for what seemed like an hour before moving to lean on a tree, catching her friends' attention. Nothing about her movement sparked them as something that required their attention, and they all figured that they should leave her be.

After a while, and the sun began to set, chatter slowly began to spring up in the group away from Kagome.

"I really wanted to be mad at that mutt. Mad that he got his dumbass into this in the first place," Kouga started, his usual hostile and cocky tone towards everything not currently in his voice. "But right now— damn. It makes me feel…"

"Guilty," Sango added.

"...Yeah."

"You wouldn't want to be in his place."

"Mhm… Just seeing Kagome…" he turned around to see Kagome still curled up on the tree away from them, Shippo and Kirara hovering near her. "Inuyasha wouldn't do that to her on purpose… would he?" Kouga asked unsurely, not used to talking so in depth about Inuyasha.

"Of course he wouldn't! Who do you think he is?!" Sango snapped in defense of Inuyasha before recollecting herself. She ran a hand through her hair before saying, "To me, it was always something obvious that they lov— cared about one another _a lot_. Even if Inuyasha could be a senseless jerk at times to her, and even… the other way around at times, Inuyasha would never have purposefully thrown himself into the hands of the enemy to hurt Kagome!"

"You weren't there the first time, but when this had all first started, Inuyasha hadn't given up so easily. Just like this time. Naraku had really just stacked the odds against him tremendously," Miroku added.

"I coulda guessed that. But—," Kouga took in a deep breath, and knocked the back of his head on the tree and sighed. "It's a bad feeling in my stomach."

"It's sympathy, of course," Miroku said.

"Sym…..pathy? For the mutt?"

"Yes, just as Naraku said. You don't think Inuyasha _deserved_ this fate, do you?"

Kouga stayed silent, but let out a huff.

"My point exactly. Even if you don't say it, I know your answer is no."

"AND SO WHAT IF IT IS?! HUH?! IT DON'T MEAN NOTHIN'!" Kouga barked, his voice rattling the trees around them.

Miroku closed his eyes and smiled. "Well, it must mean you're warming up to him like we have."

Kouga took a swing for Miroku's head, but Miroku ducked, anticipating the harsh reaction. He didn't anticipate Kouga swinging again, slamming his other fist down on the back of Miroku's head.

"Ow!" he cried.

"Cut it out!" Sango snapped at them both.

Kouga hissed his teeth repeatedly, stepping away from Miroku, who rubbed his head pitifully.

"If you think I'd ever like that damned mutt, you've got another thing comin' for ya. Geh, just thinkin' about his stench makes me wanna gag," Kouga groaned with his tongue hanging out of his mouth dramatically.

"Or it makes you want to swoon," Miroku said jokingly, but smugly.

"Why I oughta…"

"Miroku!" Sango yelled, getting up this time to block Kouga from heading back over to Miroku and clobbering him where he sat.

They ceased their squabbling when Shippo and Kirara returned to the group.

"How's Kagome?" Miroku asked.

"I dunno if I can say 'fine'... I think she just wants to be left alone…"

"She's still awake?"

"Yeah… Also guys, I think we should find a village! We've been out for days and I think Kagome's food is really running out! She has to be hungry by now."

"You're right. I believe Kagome still has a little bit of food left, so we should just give it to her. Are you alright with that, Sango?" Miroku said, standing up to go near her.

Sango nodded. "Anything for her."

"Yaknow, for a pervert freak like you, you can be… whatcha call it? Noble," Kouga said, folding his arms and slightly tilting his hips to the side.

"A pervert freak? I have no idea what you mean," Miroku said with a chuckle.

"Miroku…" Sango growled, veins popping off of her forehead as her face flushed red.

She slapped Miroku's hand off of her butt, swiveling on her heel and used the momentum to slap Miroku as hard as she could, slapping him multiple times on both cheeks. Kouga and Shippo watched the confrontation, not at all surprised by Miroku's predictable actions.

"You're depraved! I could kill you!" Sango screamed, reaching for her Hiraikotsu.

"Gah! Sango, sometimes you just need to find something that calms you down!" Miroku cried, backing away from her.

"You're one to talk!" she growled, charging at Miroku and tried to hit him with the large boomerang.

"Are they… always like this?" Kouga asked, slowly getting a bit more concerned by Sango chasing around Miroku with murderous intent.

"Pretty much," Shippo responded with a sigh. "This is worse than Kagome and Inu- oops! Than… _Inuyasha's_ bickering…." he said, whispering Inuyasha's name.

"Why are you whisperin'? Too chicken to say Inutrasha's name?"

"Hey! You should be more respectful!"

"Or what? The mutt's gonna bust outta Naraku's guts and beat the crap outta me?"

"Hi," Kagome said from behind Kouga.

Kouga raised his arms and screeched from the surprise, jumping away. He could still see the splatter of Inuyasha's dried blood on her cheek. He wondered if she forgot about it.

"Told ya you should be more respectful…" Shippo huffed.

"Kagome! You're up!" Miroku chimed, dodging swipes of the Hiraikotsu.

Kagome nodded silently, looking down at the ground.

"Are you feeling any better?" Sango asked, getting in one slam onto Miroku's back then rested her Hiraikotsu back down on a tree to go up to her friend.

"No… not really. But I can't sit around moping forever."

"Kagome, don't forget to think about yourself."

"I am! I promise. And I realize that the longer I do nothing the worse I'm gonna feel about this. I can cope with the situation as we're moving. It's better to make progress like that," Kagome said, holding the Tessaiga close to her.

Sango looked back at Miroku and sighed, looking back at Kagome.

"Do you want to leave in the morning?"

Kagome nodded.

* * *

Kagura rested along the hallway walls of the castle, enjoying the darkness and quiet to herself. Her eyes were closed, taking in deep breaths to ward off the anxiety she always faced when dealing with Naraku. Her red eyes then flashed open, feeling the unfriendly presence of the original body she had been born from.

Her eyes stayed locked on the door, until the hallway was engulfed in light from the outside before quickly being shut off from it again.

A familiar face locked eyes with hers as he entered his castle, a grin spreading from his lips.

"Kagura," Naraku said.

"...Naraku. You're back already."

"Indeed. I'm quite surprised that you're not out roaming again. Sick of the sights, are you?"

Kagura hissed her teeth, seeing Naraku begin to approach her.

"Kagura, I'm curious as to how Kagome and her group was able to find Inuyasha and I so easily? You wouldn't be familiar with this, now would you?"

"...I wouldn't know," she said, looking away from him. "Where is Inuyasha?" she asked quietly.

"Inuyasha is settled inside of my body as punishment for his rebellion."

"You… ate him?"

"That I did, and surprisingly I've been granted a great deal of power from his pathetic half demon body," he said, beginning to walk past Kagura. Stopping next to her, he said, "If Inuyasha can succumb to this fate, then by all means you can as well."

Kagura tensed up, hearing Naraku's light chuckle as he continued to walk past her. He entered the room he normally occupied, leaving Kagura in the silence and solitude that she was no longer comfortable in.


End file.
